Van Dijk replacement at Liverpool mooted in January transfer predictions after summer regrets

As the transfer rumours filter through we’ve got a decent grasp of at least which positions Premier League clubs are looking to strengthen in this summer, if not who will be signed to do the strengthening. And thus we also have a pretty good idea of which areas clubs should be looking to improve in but aren’t.

Here are some predictions for the January transfer window, based on regrets of this summer…

Chelsea sign a No.1
Mauricio Pochettino is ready to make Kepa Arrizabalaga his No.1, leaving the path clear for Manchester United to chase targets that both clubs had on very similar shortlists.

Kepa’s certainly had an excellent season by Kepa standards, though that was an incredibly low bar, which is an ironic phrase given the bar has seemingly towered above the Spaniard in goal for much of his Chelsea career. But he’s also had a very good season by Premier League standards. One of the most telling stats points to him being the third best behind just Alisson and Bernd Leno, and although Thiago Silva won it, there is a very strong argument that he should have been Chelsea’s player of the season.

Pochettino’s priorities lie elsewhere, with Moises Caicedo one of what will likely need to be two midfield targets, and a ‘high profile’ goalscorer also a must after the Blues scored just 38 goals last season.

Kepa may well be fine, but the majority of the fans aren’t having him and although he appears to have matured a great deal in the last 18 months or so, one or two significant errors could easily see him back in the doldrums.

And ultimately clubs don’t win titles without world-class goalkeepers and Kepa isn’t one of them.

Arsenal chase a goalscorer
Gabriel Jesus was excellent in his debut campaign for Arsenal but scored just 11 Premier League goals. Kai Havertz was less than excellent in his last campaign for Chelsea and scored seven Premier League goals.

Arsenal fans reading this will quite reasonably point to the 44 goals scored by Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard to argue they don’t need a goalscorer, and, again quite reasonably, may suggest that those players wouldn’t have scored those goals, which contributed to a tally just six shy of Manchester City’s, had Jesus not been so brilliant at the other striker stuff.

We don’t know Mikel Arteta’s plan for Havertz, but chances are he will be deployed down the middle in Jesus’ absence, and provide a similar service.

But allow us to blow minds for a second. What if, and bear with us, Arsenal signed a striker who dropped deep, linked the play, ran at and in behind defenders and scored goals? We’ll give you a moment to compose yourselves.

Van Dijk replacement at Liverpool
“You cannot perform at your absolute best every game,” Van Dijk said when assessing his and Liverpool’s turbulent 2022/23 season, which he admits came as a “shock” before claiming the final three months of the season left him feeling “comfortable in my skin again”.

He’s right in that he ended the season far better than he started it, though even in those later weeks he was nowhere close to the “absolute best” we saw in between 2018 and 2020, when forwards wouldn’t bother to run at him and he looked almost absurdly comfortable in any game he played.

Dutch legends Marco van Basten and Ruud Gullit criticised him in March for “creating chaos” and “thinking he’s better than the rest” and the nonchalance that previously had us drooling had pundits tipping Van Dijk to be the one with saliva dripping from the corner of his mouth in a footballer’s retirement home come this summer.

We’re not at that point yet, and Van Dijk’s improvement at the back end of last season may lead Liverpool to prioritise other areas. But as the lack of midfield additions cost them in 2022/23, a similar failure to evolve in defence this summer may force a January rethink.

Manchester City buy another centre-back
Manchester City look as though they may make the absolute baller move of heading into a season without any full-backs, assuming Sergio Gomez will be shown the door for being a bit sh*t and Rico Lewis makes a permanent move into midfield, or goes in goal or something.

Pep Guardiola would rather spend an evening with Jose Mourinho than let Joao Cancelo anywhere near his club again and Kyle Walker looks to be off to Bayern Munich, leaving him with five centre-backs to play in a back four, or three, or two, or whatever the f*** system he decides to play with, which could be four if Aymeric Laporte leaves as expected.

City will likely sign another centre-back this summer, unless he drops Rodri a bit deeper, which he could if Declan Rice arrives. It’s all quite exciting actually.

But Pep will want another one in January because he can’t resist a good centre-back, particularly ones that don’t actually seem to be that good but turn out to be absolute world-beaters. See Nathan Ake and Manuel Akanji.

Newcastle loan deals
The Toon raid on Serie A has begun with Sandro Tonali and could continue with bids for Theo Hernandez and Federico Chiesa, while Ruben Neves could immediately be loaned to them from Al Hilal, which is turning our stomach, and they’re also in the running for James Maddison.

They’ve not got a lot wrong since the Saudi takeover and all of those potential deals would immediately improve them, lifting the quality of the starting XI to a level fit for the Champions League. But we would question whether Jamaal Lascelles, Ciaran Clark, Matt Ritchie or Chris Wood are equipped to walk out at the Bernabeu or San Siro.

Financial Fair Play will be the problem for Newcastle, who have the means but not the licence to spend whatever they want, and when January rolls around and Fabian Schar is out on his arse having played 40 games some short fixes may well be the answer.

Tottenham sign another right-back
After Kyle Walker and Kieran Trippier, two of the best right-backs in Premier League history, Spurs have called upon Serge Aurier, Matt Doherty and Emerson Royal at right-back, before refusing to call upon Djed Spence and ending up with Pedro Porro. It’s not been great.

Tim Sherwood, whose word we here at Football365 take as gospel, described Porro as “so bad it’s unbelievable” on his debut, adding that his “positioning is disgusting”.

It was a bit much and Porro vowed to make Sherwood “shut his mouth” through his performances but we’re yet to be convinced that his defending is any better than the air-headed trio who preceded him. £39m was also a helluva lot of money.

Manchester United sign someone, anyone, or everyone
It looks like they’ll get Mason Mount and reports suggest they’ll push for a striker – maybe Randal Kolo Muani – having tied up a deal for the Chelsea star. But that could well be it if the Glazers continue to dilly-dally.

It seems they’ve got £120m for transfers unless big bad Sheikh Jassim or Sir Jim Ratcliffe take charge in time. After they’ve paid £60m or so for Mount that leaves £60m for a striker, which is below what the clubs want for most of their targets in any case.

That leaves nothing for an alternative to Kim Min-jae or a replacement for David de Gea. The Norwich club shop had better stock up on scarves again.

Should the Glazers still be in charge come January they’ll sign someone to placate the fans somewhat, as they’re wont to do, and if the Red Devils have a shiny new owner we can surely expect some lavish spending on statement signings to push for Champions League qualification.