8 Clubs That Need to Do Serious Business in the 2024 Winter Transfer Window
The January transfer window allows clubs one last chance to retool before the conclusion of a season.
Whether it's to secure a little more firepower for a title push or to shore things up ahead of a likely relegation battle, some serious money will be thrown around in pursuit of one or two missing pieces who could make or break a season.
Ahead, we've detailed eight clubs that could benefit from an injection of quality before the campaign's second half.
Liverpool
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If you'd have told Liverpool fans ahead of the season the club would be title contenders, they probably wouldn't have believed you.
After the Reds finished in fifth place in the 2022-23 season and lost pretty much their whole midfield, an uncomplicated rebuild and scraping a fourth-place finish would have been considered a success for the 2023-24 campaign.
But here we are, and Liverpool is somehow in the thick of a title charge with 50 percent of the season gone. The performances haven't been convincing, and the Reds have benefited from a lot of luck in some cases, but you can't argue with the results.
There are still holes in the squad, though. Liverpool needed a new center back even before Joël Matip's season-ending knee ligament injury.
But left-back is suddenly a concern, too, with Andy Robertston still recovering from a shoulder injury and backup Kostas Tsimikas breaking his clavicle. A loan signing might be the answer here.
Meanwhile, with Mohamed Salah carrying the load in attack—scoring the same number of Premier League goals as Diogo Jota, Darwin Núñez and Luis Diaz combined—perhaps the need for a goalscorer is more pressing than they hoped it would be.
Liverpool has made at least one signing in the January transfer window in recent seasons, and maybe defense is better to focus on than attack at this point.
But with the domestic league title well and truly up for grabs this year and Salah heading for Africa Cup of Nations duty with Egypt, the Reds might just want to throw the dice on a proven goalscorer.
Barcelona
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Barcelona probably doesn't have the money or wiggle room when it comes to financial fair play to sign a new player, but it's clear the club needs something.
Vitor Roque has arrived, but he is one for the future rather than the present.
The Blaugrana are already seven points behind Real Madrid and surprise La Liga contenders Girona. Meanwhile, Athletic Club are within three points of them for fourth place, putting Champions League qualification for next season in doubt.
They might be restricted to loans or even an imaginative transfer deal of some kind, but when they're already struggling financially, missing out on Europe's premier club competition is simply unthinkable.
Robert Lewandowski needs some help in a fairly cool year by his scorching-hot standards, and 33-year-old İlkay Gündoğan clocking up the most league minutes of any player in the squad from the team's engine room doesn't seem sustainable.
Meanwhile, they've already conceded more goals than the whole of last year's title-winning campaign, so a defensive rethink might be in order.
There's just a distinct lack of quality at the Camp Nou compared to what we've become accustomed to, and it's unlikely they can buy top players in January given their financial woes.
But loan signings of João Cancelo and João Félix show Barcelona can find serious value if necessary, and a few teams might be looking to offload disgruntled stars temporarily.
Real Madrid
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Endrick is coming in July, but it's at the back where Real Madrid will be worried right now.
Center backs Éder Militão and David Alaba both have cruciate ligament injuries, while Nacho will be suspended for the first game back following the Christmas break—if not longer should his ban be extended.
That leaves Antonio Rüdiger as the only fit senior center back, with midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni likely to be drafted into the heart of defense to plug the gap.
With Girona surprisingly strong this season, Los Blancos won't want to lose any ground in the title race, especially in a year in which Barcelona is well off the pace.
While the splashy signings at the Bernabeu are usually in midfield and attack, Carlo Ancelotti's men will want to turn their gaze toward the other end of the pitch in January.
Borussia Dortmund
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Borussia Dortmund's domestic campaign has gone a lot differently than their European endeavors.
Die Schwarzgelben finished at the top of what many considered to be the Champions League "group of death," ahead of Paris Saint-Germain, Milan and Newcastle United.
In the Bundesliga, however, it's a different story. Dortmund is significantly off the pace of league-leaders Bayer Leverkusen, sits in fifth place, and possesses a barely positive goal difference that perhaps tells the story of the club's season so far.
While there's next to no chance it can get back in the title picture, performing well in the Champions League knockouts, qualifying for next year's competition and not falling even further behind in a league that has seen a serious resurgence by Leverkusen should be prioritised.
Help up front and at the back is required. Perhaps it's time to look for a replacement for 35-year-old Mats Hummels, while the underwhelming goal total of Niclas Füllkrug might necessitate an investment up top.
Sevilla
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Sevilla, the reigning Europa League champion, is flirting with relegation. It was a similar story at this stage last season, albeit slightly more troubling, and it is right back in that state again.
Los Rojiblancos have just three wins and 16 points from 18 games thus far, and despite a first La Liga win since September against Granada in Week 17, they are still within spitting distance of the relegation zone after falling to Atlético Madrid ahead of the winter break.
Quique Sánchez Flores is Sevilla's third manager this season, and he's charged with rescuing a club that once again looks in danger of slipping into the second division for the first time since 2001.
Money is tight at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán, despite high-profile sales in the last couple of years, so loans are probably the way forward.
It's hard to pinpoint a single area that needs fixing; rather, a little bit of magic all over is required. With transfer guru Monchi gone—even with his powers seemingly waning in the final few years of his tenure—that might be tricky.
Regardless, something needs to happen, or things could get worse very quickly for Sevilla.
Olympique Lyonnais
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After finishing comfortably in the top four of Ligue 1 for 20 years up to the 2018-19 campaign, things haven't been so bright for Lyon in the past half-decade.
Finishes of seventh, fourth, eighth and seventh from 2019-20 until last season weren't exactly the heights Lyon was used to, but this season's drop to 15th puts it perilously close to dropping down a league for the first time in the club's history.
It has conceded the joint-third-most goals in the division, and four wins from 17 isn't inspired reading.
High-profile losses of young talent ahead of the campaign hasn't helped matters, and even Alexandre Lacazette being joint-third in the Ligue 1 goalscoring ranks is not dragging the club from the jaws of the relegation zone. Only two teams have scored fewer than Lyon's 16 in the league.
That back line needs some help, and giving veteran Lacazette some assistance up top is vital. Center back Jake O'Brien is the only other squad player to have scored more than one goal, and Rayan Cherki has not built on his promise from last season.
Napoli
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A Serie A title defense is out of the question, but Napoli's Champions League status might be crucial to keeping its two best players.
Victor Osimhen—despite extending his contract before Christmas Day—and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia will probably take more notice of the many admiring glances from Europe's top teams if the Partenopei don't make the UCL next year. Honestly, that might not even be enough to keep the pair.
But Napoli will want to do everything in its power to retain the key players that brought a Serie A title last season.
The loss of manager Luciano Spalletti to a sabbatical and then the Italy national team has proved disastrous, and the club has already given replacement Rudi Garcia his marching orders.
Now, Walter Mazzarri will want a couple of fresh faces to mold the club in his image and make European qualification a possibility.
Despite scoring the joint-fourth-most goals in Serie A, the 21 Napoli has conceded is the worst mark in the league's top half.
The loss of Kim Min-Jae has been problematic, with the South Korean key to the club conceding only 28 goals during the whole of the title-winning campaign.
A new defensive leader is required, and president Aurelio De Laurentiis has confirmed that center back is one area he will be targeting in January.
"We will sign at least three players," he told Corriere Dello Sport (h/t Fabrizio Romano). "One CB, one right back, one midfielder. It could also be two midfielders."
So it's clear Napoli should be busy, which is necessary with Barcelona waiting in the Champions League knockouts.
Manchester United
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What do they need? Is "everything" an exaggeration?
Despite only the FA Cup realistically in play for Manchester United this season, the club's new investors will want to get down to business quickly. It might even be a new manager who has a say on those incoming players.
But sitting in sixth place and scoring only 21 goals in the Premier League—only last-place Sheffield United, Burnley and Crystal Palace have scored fewer—suggests they need some firepower.
Rasmus Højlund has scored just once in the domestic league, despite netting five in six European games, but it's perhaps unfair to put so much pressure on a 20-year-old playing in his first season in England.
When center midfielder Scott McTominay is your top scorer in the league with five and only Bruno Fernandes (three), Alejandro Garnacho (three) and Marcus Rashford (two) have scored more than one, it's clear goals are needed. The less said about Anthony Martial and Antony the better.
Meanwhile, the back line has been a merry-go-round this season, with 35-year-old Jonny Evans surprisingly the unit's most consistent performer.
Changes are incoming, and it likely won't just be in the boardroom.
