Who needs who in January: Part 1

Silly season around Europe as the January transfer window is wide open. Manchester City have arguably made the biggest splash so far with the reported £27million signing of Bosnian striker Edin Dzeko whilst teams up and down the Premiership and all around Europe are linked with a host of players that will help win them trophies or stave off the threat of relegation.

Therefore, this piece will look at each team and outline their needs to aid them between now and May.

Arsenal

Defenders and one that isn't Sol Campbell. With both Thomas Vermaelen and Sebastien Squillaci both sidelined for the foreseeable future, Arsene Wenger has admitted he may have to dip into the transfer market with only Johan Djourou Laurent Koscielny the only two available centre-backs available to the Frenchman. The Gunners have been linked to Werder Bremen giant Per Mertesacker in the past and unsurprisingly have been again throughout January. Gary Cahill has been another name mooted as a possible signing but the high transfer window that Bolton are commanding may throw Wenger off. Either way, Arsenal need another centre-back desperately and both Mertesacker and Cahill would be great additions to Wengers squad.

Aston Villa

The Midlands outfit are in dire need of a striker and perhaps a new manager to join. When your top scorer is Stewart Downing, a player charged with assisting the goals not scoring them, you know you need a player to come in and change this. Last season’s top scorer John Carew has been ousted by Gerard Houllier leaving Emile Heskey, Nathan Delfouneso and Gabriel Agbonlahor as the only recognised strikers at the club. Coupled with a lack of goals from all three leaves Villa in need of a striker that is capable of hitting the back of net from nothing. A new manager may also be needed with Villa languishing in the relegation zone (the first time they have been in the bottom three in seven years) and, in my opinion, Randy Lerner needs to replace Houiller sooner rather than later before it's too late.

Birmingham City

A lack of creativity appeared to be hindering McLeish’s Birmingham side with the prolonged spell on the sidelines for Scottish international James McFadden whilst the form of Alexander Hleb has left a lot to be desired. McLeish has acted swiftly this transfer window with the acquisition of Spurs outcast David Bentley who will help fill the gap McFadden would have plugged had he been fit. McLeish’s attempts to tempt Robbie Keane to St. Andrews has so far proven unsuccessful yet if McLeish were to bring the Irishman to Birmingham, his drive and passion will help the Midlands outfit stave off the threat of relegation.

Blackburn Rovers

First things first - get rid of El Hadji Diouf. His behaviour towards QPR striker Jamie Mackie whilst on the floor with a broken leg was beyond disgusting and must surely be the final words of the Senegalese international in a Blackburn shirt. Secondly, The Venky's need to back manager Steve Kean financially this month if the clubs position is to improve as the season draws on. Promising signings to the fans is always a gamble and whilst the almost signing of Ronaldinho shows a sign of intent, the Venky's need to spend the money they have invested in the club to push Blackburn up the table.

Blackpool

Despite an impressive start to Blackpool's debut in the Premiership, the second half of the season is where it all counts. Blackpool desperately need to sign a player with proven Premiership experience whether it is on loan or permanently for the important months ahead. If Birmingham fail to sign Tottenham striker Robbie Keane, Ian Holloway should make a move for the Irishman to help continue Blackpool's excellent debut campaign.

Bolton Wanderers

Owen Coyle desperately needs to hold on to star players Johan Elmander and Gary Cahill to keep his side in the top half of the table. Chairman Phil Gartside has suggested at least one will be sold (chances are it will be Elmander due to his contract expiring at the end of the season) in order to help balance the books. Coyle must plead with his chairman to keep all three until at least the summer so he can have more time to re-build should both Elmander and Cahill move on to new clubs.

Chelsea

An injection of youth is needed at the West London club as injuries begin to take their toll and players and the pace of the Premiership rises with each passing month. Cracks have begun to show in Ancelottis side and these need to be addressed quickly. With Ancelotti having registered a small squad at the beginning of the season, there is more than enough space to accommodate new players. Abramovich needs to dust off his cheque book this month to ensure The Blues remain in the hunt for the title as the season draws on.

Everton

Much like Aston Villa, David Moyes needs to bring in some fire-power up front. Too much pressure is heaped on Australian Tim Cahill and now that he is unavailable for the coming weeks due to Australia's participation in the Asia Cup, Moyes needs to bring in a proven goal-scorer to help his team now and in the future when Cahill is available. Manchester City are a team that are willing to off-load strikers and I believe Moyes would be foolish not to take advantage of that situation.

Fulham

Mark Hughes has already looked to pick up on some January bargains with the acquisition of former Arsenal trainee Steve Sidwell from Aston Villa which should ease the burden on Danny Murphy, Dickson Etuhu and Clint Dempsey with the latter currently employed further up the pitch in the absence of preferred strike-force Andy Johnson and Bobby Zamora. Fulham desperately need these two back in action as soon as possible and although a striker may not be at the top of Mark Hughes shopping list, a short-term loan deal may be the best option as Johnson and Zamora continue to recover from injury.

Liverpool

Roy Hodgson's stint at Liverpool was short-lived and club hero Kenny Dalglish has been instilled as manager until the end of the season. Dalglish needs the financial backing of new owner John W Henry in order to improve Liverpool's on-field fortunes. Out of the FA Cup and the Carling Cup, Dalglish must focus on pushing his team up the league whilst looking at the possibility of winning The Europa League. With that said, Dalglish needs to rid Liverpool of some of the dead wood lingering around Anfield in order to free-up funds for new signings. A new striker to ease the burden on Fernando Torres whilst providing some decent competition to the Spaniard wouldn't go amiss, another midfielder to shore things up in the middle of the park and maybe a centre-back with cult hero Jamie Carragher still sidelined with a dislocated shoulder.

That concludes Part 1 of 'Who needs who in January'. Check back tomorrow for Part 2

Laters,

Macca