Biggest Remaining Transfer Requirement for Each Premier League Club
As Premier League clubs trickle into pre-season and start their summer tours, managers will be carrying out head counts to see who is present, what's missing and what they can do about plugging the gaps.
The transfer market is usually the first port of call for that, and with the new TV money rolling in, even clubs that placed in the lower half of the table last season can afford to haul in premium players.
With that in mind, we'll check in on each Premier League club's biggest remaining transfer need as of July 8, 2015.
What does your club desperately require, and does the squad stack up in comparison to the rest?
AFC Bournemouth: Midfield Depth
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Eddie Howe won't be looking to dismantle the side he's put together here, and Bournemouth aren't a club stupid enough to blow Premier League money like no tomorrow.
With most key pieces in play to carry out Howe's philosophy and some young players eager to provide competition for places, a sprinkling of depth in midfield could be of use, should one of Harry Arter, Yann Kermorgant or Eunan O'Kane get suspended or injured.
As with most promoted clubs, this season will be a stern test of each player's calibre, and Howe is a manager likely to trust in his group and give his men every chance to earn their own survival.
Arsenal: Francis Coquelin Insurance
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With Petr Cech signed and sealed, finally removing the giant question mark hanging over Arsenal's goalkeeper position, Arsene Wenger can address his next need.
The Gunners, so often the club facing the clear need to grab three or four players to fix their XI, find themselves in a rare position: A sprinkling of quality would be welcome, but this team is actually worthy of a title challenge already.
Wenger should look to the holding midfield position and, accepting that Mathieu Flamini is no longer good enough and that Mikel Arteta might just be done, recruit some Francis Coquelin insurance—if he goes down, it's a big problem.
The striker debate—Olivier Giroud, Theo Walcott or someone else?—will rage on, but holding-midfield cover is perhaps the more burning need.
Aston Villa: Left-Back
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If Christian Benteke leaves Aston Villa, as talkSPORT suggested might happen, then striker jumps to the top of the queue as the club's biggest need. Until then, the clear weak link in the squad is the position of left-back.
Tim Sherwood doesn't seem to like Aly Cissokho very much—he's a poor attacking outlet, and while Kieran Richardson was an able deputy (bar the horror show against Queens Park Rangers), he can't be the long-term answer.
With Idrissa Gueye signing on to beef up the midfield, pending a work permit, according to the Birmingham Mail, the future clear at centre-back and Micah Richards in tow, left-back is the glaring need.
Chelsea: A Star Name
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Chelsea won the Premier League title at a canter last season after a successful summer recruitment spree. The squad remains young enough and deep enough to compete on all fronts once again this year, and Jose Mourinho will be expecting more trophies.
Perhaps the Blues need to look at replacing the outbound John Obi Mikel, or securing a centre-back better than Gary Cahill—but would that be to the detriment of Kurt Zouma? Will Juan Cuadrado be trusted to turn it around, or will he be sold in favour of pursuing another winger, such as Isco?
Ultimately, the safest thing to say is this: Chelsea's biggest transfer need, if there is one, is a star name. Only star names can improve this team, and it's not worth bringing in any filler names at this stage. It's Paul Pogba or nada.
Crystal Palace: Scott Dann's Central Defensive Partner
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For a long time, Crystal Palace's great need has been a left-back, so that Joel Ward can move back into his familiar position on the right side. But Ward's performances back there haven't been fantastic—Ashley Young turned him inside out at Selhurst Park late last season—so perhaps he should continue on the left after all.
Either way, the issue at centre-back has simply become more and more prominent, and so that must take priority for Alan Pardew. Scott Dann's partner must be found; his name is not Damien Delaney (long-term), and it is most certainly not Brede Hangeland.
Dann verged on brilliant at times last campaign, and Pardew needs to find him a capable companion.
Everton: Heads-Up No. 10
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Everton look pretty good across the board, with Gerard Deulofeu coming into bolster the options available to Roberto Martinez in the wide areas. Left-centre-back may be a concern now that Sylvain Distin is gone, but Brendan Galloway can cover, and the John Stones-Phil Jagielka partnership would ideally continue for another season.
That brings us to the midfield, and a player the Toffees are most certainly lacking is a creative, heads-up No. 10. Ross Barkley's head-down, dribble-into-traffic style epitomises the issues Martinez has at this moment in time; not one of his central players can lift their chins to pick a pass.
Romelu Lukaku and Co. made a lot of good runs last season that were completely ignored. A quick fix for that is to bring in a more worldly attacking midfielder.
Leicester City: A Tough-Tackling Midfielder
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Priority No. 1 is to get Esteban Cambiasso back in Leicester City colours this season; the player has admitted he could sign an extension, according to Rajvir Rai of the Daily Mail, but the managerial situation could cloud the already murky waters here.
The Argentinian provided tough tackling and raking passes from the base of Nigel Pearson's midfield last season, emerging as the key player in the system, and he was rightfully honoured as the club's Player of the Season.
That snap and bite will be missing without him, and worse yet, Matty James will spend at least half of the coming season on the sidelines after sustaining a serious knee injury at the tail end of the 2014-15 campaign. That's two tough presences gone.
Regardless of whether Cambiasso takes in another year in the east Midlands, the Foxes must recruit bodies for this area of the pitch.
Liverpool: Centre-Back
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What Liverpool need to do and what Brendan Rodgers will do appear to be two entirely different things.
He seems pretty content with a central defensive corps of Martin Skrtel, Mamadou Sakho, Dejan Lovren and Kolo Toure, but where he sees a crack team ready for rebound, we see a flawed group with no obvious partnership and only one genuine class player (Sakho).
It's remarkable that the Reds have just sat and watched Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton scrap over Toby Alderweireld, given that he's everything they need in the centre of their defence.
Liverpool have other glaring needs, too—a world-class striker wouldn't go amiss, and removing the deadwood from a high-earning, low-impact squad would free up so much money—but the immediate need is to (continue to) strengthen the defence.
Manchester City: Pace and Youth
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Manchester City have a brilliant squad, and Manuel Pellegrini—assured of his job for the beginning of the 2014-15 season at least—needs to freshen up a stale environment.
For such quality players, their will to win fell flat last season. Rather than order an industrial-sized crate of Febreze, though, we suggest that he spend that money on some exciting, young, hungry talent.
Ideally, City would recruit pace in the forward areas and a little youth at the back. The back line is ageing, while James Milner needs to be replaced. Raheem Sterling would do nicely.
Manchester United: Morgan Schneiderlin
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Just buy him, Louis. Just pay the money.
Manchester United have a host of issues to deal with this summer, with a striker or two, a right-back (Matteo Darmian?) and centre-back firmly on the agenda, but first they need to shore up the midfield position.
Sans Michael Carrick, United have looked disastrous under Louis van Gaal. They can fix that by purchasing Morgan Schneiderlin, who can play the controller role the Dutchman so desires, weening the Red Devils off a Carrick-dependent existence and bolstering the depth in such a key position.
Newcastle United: Centre-Back
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It's difficult to know where to start here. Steve McClaren is set to bring about a positive footballing change on Tyneside, and there are plenty of players in this Newcastle squad who don't seem to fit his ethos on paper.
Perhaps it would be prudent to start at centre-back, as McClaren will ask for the attacks to be built from there. Fabricio Coloccini had a horror season in 2014-15, while Mike Williamson has been putting in questionable performances for three years. Crucially, neither are ball-playing outlets, making them poor schematic fits.
Norwich City: Centre-Back
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Despite Russell Martin's strong season at centre-back for Norwich City, the fans believe he should move back to right-back, where he is perceived to play even better.
That opens a hole in central defence next to Sebastien Bassong, with only the extremely injury-prone Ryan Bennett capable of filling it. Bassong's been brilliant since coming back into reckoning, too, and with Martin Olsson performing well at left-back, Norwich are three-quarters of the way toward a very solid back line.
Southampton: Morgan Schneiderlin Replacement
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If Manchester United sign Morgan Schneiderlin—and BBC Sport have confirmed their interest in the player—then Southampton need to move quickly to replace him. Ronald Koeman and all of the south coast know just how important the Frenchman is to their success.
Could Jordy Clasie be the man?
Koeman confirmed to Gordon Simpson of the Southern Daily Echo this week that the Feyenoord battler is "on the list" of potential replacements; he's a pass-master who has also added edge and bite to his game.
Clasie or not, Koeman cannot leave the hole Schneiderlin leaves unplugged.
Stoke City: New Right Side
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Stoke City are pretty much in need of a new right side, with Mark Hughes appearing rather unenthused with the current options available.
The club are pressing forward and arguably punching above their weight once again in the transfer market; last summer they signed Bojan, and this summer they've been ambitious enough to try to grab Xherdan Shaqiri, according to David Anderson of the Mirror, but there are certain areas of their squad that don't stack up to that level talent-wise.
Picking between Geoff Cameron (who doesn't want to play right-back) and Phil Bardsley to man the defence is not the luxury Hughes desires. Reinforcements are needed here.
Sunderland: Winger
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Dick Advocaat has quietly begun retooling Sunderland's ailing defence, securing Sebastian Coates on a permanent deal for £4 million and grabbing Adam Matthews for £2 million from Celtic. There are no longer major concerns here.
The Black Cats surged to safety late last season using an odd, narrow 4-3-3 with three strikers up front, and while it had the desired (goalscoring) effect over a short spell, it's not viable long-term.
So a new winger, or two, will be the focus. The Sunderland Echo's Chris Young reported that Jeremain Lens is a target, which makes perfect sense for the club.
Swansea City: Younger, Alternative Striker
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Swansea City lost Wilfried Bony in January and opted to ride out the season with Bafetimbi Gomis—a less talented but similarly hulking presence up front. He did the job.
This summer they attempted to sign young Colombian prospect Rafael Santos Borre but were stonewalled by work permit issues, according to the South Wales Evening Post. Eder of Portugal and Braga has been brought in, but he's in a similar mould to Gomis, giving Garry Monk very little in terms of a Plan B up front.
Huw Jenkins deserves commendation for hitting the market and strengthening every area required, but at a push, a younger, quicker striker is perhaps needed.
Tottenham Hotspur: Winger
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Ideally, Tottenham Hotspur would haul in a winger who could also back up as a striker—such as Anthony Martial (pictured)—but a pure winger would suffice, too.
Given Mauricio Pochettino's love of genuine wing play, it's been strange to see Spurs largely play without it during the Argentinian's first season in charge of the club. With the Mirror's Dean Jones suggesting both Andros Townsend and Aaron Lennon are unwanted, it leaves them with just Erik Lamela and Nacer Chadli; it becomes a position of genuine need.
The club hopes Lamela will come good in his remarkable promise, but competition for Chadli is a necessity.
Watford: Winger
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Watford have a good squad, but things are complicated. It's quite a lot better, on paper, than Burnley's was this time last year when they arrived from the Championship, but a change in manager clouds proceedings.
Slaviska Jokanovic won promotion using a 3-5-2 formation, playing two strikers, but the new man at the helm, Quique Flores, is highly likely to ditch it in favour of a 4-2-3-1. That draws the wide areas into focus, with the Hornets perhaps looking a little shy there.
There's a chance forwards Matej Vydra and Odion Ighalo are asked to split wide, but if not, Flores can't hit the season with Ikechi Anya as a major outlet.
West Bromwich Albion: Full-Backs
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The need is so dire we're cheating, sort of, and saying both full-back positions are in a genuinely critical state.
Jason Davidson and Chris Baird were released, Andre Wisdom has returned to Liverpool and both Cristian Gamboa and Sebastien Pocognoli have been told they're to find new places of work.
You'd say left-back is more urgent than right-back because Craig Dawson can play on the right side if required, though ideally Dawson would move centrally soon, and two new players would be found to play on the flanks.
West Ham: Right-Back
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As it stands, West Ham United don't have a right-back. Carl Jenkinson played there on loan last season and while the Daily Mail's Sami Mokbel reported the east London club are eager to bring him back, nothing has been confirmed yet. Guy Demel has also been released.
Without Jenkinson, the Hammers would be forced to push a centre-back out into an iffy position or ask Joey O'Brien to fill in. That's not a good look for a team competing in Europe and harbouring hopes of pushing forth in the table.
If it's not Jenkinson, expect Slaven Bilic to find someone else in the transfer market.
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