Major potential moves as January transfer window opens up
Who will make what moves?

Christmas may be done and gone, but soccer teams do their holiday shopping in January. As the calendar changes to 2016, European teams look to bring in reinforcements to help them secure trophies.

The January transfer window differs a bit from its summer counterpart in that it is more rare to see a big name move, though it is possible. Reason being that with the summer window longer, it is easier to integrate a new player into the lineup. Not only that, but many teams are unwilling to sell, and as a result the asking prices for players tend to be overvalued.

Still though we do see big moves this time of the year nonetheless. Here we break down what the biggest clubs will be looking for, and more importantly, who they might bring in.

 

Manchester United

Manager Louis Van Gaal could be on his way out, making who if anyone, will be bought and sold. Though British paper The Independent are saying Benfica’s 19-year-old Winger Gonçalo Guedes has caught the Red Devils’ eye. Some are calling him the next Cristiano Ronaldo.

Where they could an overhaul is in attack, where they have only two strikers. Wayne Rooney isn’t scoring at all, and when your no. 10 isn’t scoring, it’s hard to win matches, simple as that.

 

Manchester City

City have been linked with Real Madrid midfielder Isco, who played under City manager Manuel Pelligrini when he was coaching Málaga. Manchester City have also been linked with German international Leroy Sane, who the Spanish media also say has generated interest from Real Madrid. Although it seems City are balking at Sane’s 40 million euro price tag.

Central defense seems to be their greatest need, with Vincent Kompany sitting out large stretches and inconsistent performances by his substitutes. Kompany of course is their captain, and it’s looking like City could use some leadership at the back to keep their defense from leaking.

 

Real Madrid

It isn’t so much about who could come as much as it is who could go. Madrid is all about the big signings, which just don’t come in January.

It’s been a tumultuous year so far at the Bernabeu, which defines Isco’s career in the capital. He has always shined and as a result is entrenched on the national team. But the glutton of midfielders at Real Madrid has often forced him to the bench and the Spaniard is likely out of patience. He could easily start for 95% of the clubs in Europe.

Bayern Munich all-world forward Robert Lewandowski has been heavily linked with a move to Madrid, although he will likely have to wait until the summer to go house hunting.

 

Barcelona

Barcelona is firing on all cylinders right now and it might not seem like they need anything, but they indeed do. Although, they couldn’t really buy anything if they wanted to. Long story short, the club’s bylaws don’t allow them to take on more debt than 2.5 times their net income plus taxes and interest among other factors.

Still, the Spanish leaders are thin in central defense. They have two studs in Gerard Pique and Javier Mascherano, but are extremely thin after that. Marc Barta hasn’t developed as they thought and the rest fall victim to inconsistency and injury too often.

That said, they likely don’t have much to spend so they’ll probably be actively looking for a loan or cheap transfer. 

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