January Transfer Window: 1 Position Every Major Club Needs To Upgrade

Don't look now, but January is suddenly the next month on your calendar.

And you know what that means: It's almost time for world football's January transfer window.

It's hard to predict how each European club will act in January. Some might throw money around after we expected them to scrimp. Others might stay quiet after we expected them to spend.

We won't know for sure until the end of January. But here's something we can predict: One position where every major team needs to upgrade.

Which clubs qualify as "major" clubs? Well, this will surely irk some people, but today we're going to talk about AC Milan, Arsenal, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Juventus, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, PSG and Real Madrid.

Got it? Let's go.

AC Milan: Depth and Youth in Midfield

OK, so that's not a position. But depth and youth are what AC Milan need to add to their midfield this winter.

The Rossoneri have dependable midfield options in Mark van Bommel, Alberto Aquilani and Antonio Nocerino. But injuries to players like Mathieu Flamini and Gennaro Gattuso have proven costly.

Plus, there's the issue of age. Clarence Seedorf turns 36 in April. Van Bommel turns 35 the same month, and another midfielder, Massimo Ambrosini, turns 35 in May.

Adding some young players who aren't injury-prone could help Milan immensely in January.

Arsenal: A Replacement for Andrei Arshavin

Something is wrong with Arsenal's record signing.

Maybe it's just bad form. Maybe it's just bad luck. Or maybe he's past his use-by date.

We think it's the latter.

At 30 (he turns 31 in May), Andrei Arshavin is right around the age where Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger tends to sell off his big-money players.

For Arsenal, the money was never bigger. And for Arshavin, the fall from grace has been steep.

Just last year, he was doing stuff like this. Now he looks lost, disinterested and out-of-sorts every time he touches the pitch.

With Robin van Persie in the form of his life, it's not imperative that Arsenal find a replacement fast, but just imagine how well the Gunners could play if they had someone there who could play at Arshavin's old level.

Barcelona: A Better Backup Goalie

(Or a replacement for Puyol.)

Jose Manuel Pinto, who recently turned 36, has been at Barcelona since 2008. He has served as an admirable backup to Victor Valdez, but his time at the Camp Nou is coming to an end.

His agent has hinted at a move, and it's likely Pinto will be gone by the summer. It's time to bring in someone else.

Bayern Munich: Midfield

This one is hard. Bayern sit atop the Bundesliga table having scored 38 goals and conceding just nine in 15 matches.

But they've already lost four matches and they've been in a bit of a slump lately. Manager Ottmar Hitzfeld thinks the bad run comes down to the absence of midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger, who fractured his clavicle on Nov. 2.

Schweinsteiger is a heck of a player, but his absence shouldn't affect the team so much.

Buying reinforcements in the midfield should help Bayern build depth. That, in turn, should help them avoid a scenario like this in the future.

Chelsea: Everything

Chelsea are a mess right now. As our own Yoosof Farah has pointed out, manager Andre Villas-Boas is reportedly ready to clean house.

Since we have to pick one area, we'll go with the forwards. Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba are reportedly on the transfer list, and the artist formerly known as Fernando Torres is still out of sorts.

Chelsea need new players up top, and they need them soon. A Champions League place is at stake.

Juventus: Cover for Buffon

Juventus lead Serie A by two points over AC Milan. They're still undefeated.

So what could they possibly need?

We're not too impressed with their goalkeeper situation past Gianluigi Buffon. His backups are a pair of 34-year-old scrubs: Italian Marco Storari and Austrian Alex Manninger, who served as David Seaman's backup at Arsenal about a hundred years ago.

If Gigi, who turns 34 in January, goes down with an injury, Juventus could suffer.

Manchester City: Nothing

Barring a historic outbreak of the injury bug, Manchester City should be covered for the rest of the season.

Roberto Mancini's bench is deeper than most clubs' starting lineups.

The one thing City need to do is offload Carlos Tevez once and for all. If the reports out of Milan are accurate, it could happen soon.

Manchester United: Central Midfield

Sure, United started the season on a high, but the performances have dropped in quality over the past few months.

It's started with central midfield, where Sir Alex Ferguson is relying on players like Michael Carrick, Tom Cleverley, Darren Fletcher and a 38-year-old Ryan Giggs.

Are you inspired by that group?

Didn't think so.

Where's Roy Keane when you need him?

PSG: David Beckham

What could Europe's newest big-money club want?

David Beckham, of course.

Not because of his on-field prowess. Beckham was in decline even before he went to the United States.

PSG need Beckham because of the boost in visibility he'll bring with him to Paris. PSG are now one of the continent's riches clubs. They need to back that up with a superstar on their roster.

Real Madrid: Nothing

So Jose Mourinho says Real don't need to sign anyone in January.

Do we really believe him?

Actually, yes.

Real are flying high in La Liga and the Champions League. They've got the squad, tactics and manager to overtake Barca and conquer Europe.

What else do they need?