Premier League 2025/26: Teams who need to sign players in January
The January transfer window presents clubs in the big leagues with an opportunity to tweak their squads to reach their immediate goals going into the second half of the season.
Here, we look at some of the Premier League teams that should be looking for signings in the January transfer window.
Aston Villa
Aston Villa competed in the Champions League last season, but they came up a bit short in the Premier League and ended up in Europa League places. The Villans also looked to be struggling at the start of this season, not being able to score goals and dropping points against teams they were expected to beat.
Though Villa have since got their form back on track, they are still not performing at a level consistent enough to ensure Champions League qualification or win the Europa League come May.
Even though Aston Villa didn’t make many signings due to financial restrictions, they did loan in big-name players like Jadon Sancho and Harvey Elliott, though head coach Unai Emery hasn’t utilised many of them. On paper, Villa have a decent first XI, but they do lack quality squad options in case of injuries or poor form from vital players.
Going into January, Aston Villa need midfield and defensive backups, but given their need to comply with the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules, they’ll need to look at reasonable options that can deliver results but on an economic package.
Villa could go for Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva or Everton’s James Garner to add experience in the middle. Both these players are in the last year of their respective contracts and could be convinced to move.
Chelsea
The Blues capped off a successful 2024/25 season with Champions League qualification, along with winning the Conference League and Club World Cup titles. However, Chelsea’s form has been erratic this season, which can be attributed to their injury crisis at the back.
Chelsea have lost the second most points (8) from a winning position. Since the loss of Levi Colwill early in the season, their defenders have fallen like ninepins, with Benoît Badiashile, Josh Acheampong, and Tosin Adarabioyo all having spells on the sidelines.
Head coach Enzo Maresca spoke about the need for defensive reinforcement as early as the end of the summer transfer window. While Chelsea missed a trick by not signing a world-class goalkeeper then, their priorities ought to be elsewhere on the pitch for the short term. With Colwill out until the start of next season, and Badiashile yet to return, Chelsea should target an experienced defender this January if they want to mount a serious title challenge in the second half of the season.
Bournemouth’s Marcos Senesi and Brighton’s Jan Paul van Hecke could be decent options, given both are solid ball-playing centre-backs that suit Maresca’s style of play. They could also attempt to bring back Marc Guéhi, who is in the last year of his contract and almost moved to Liverpool in the summer; Crystal Palace are unlikely to let him go easily, but they also wouldn’t want to lose him for free.
Fulham
Fulham were one of the handful of Premier League clubs who made very few signings in the summer. As a consequence, they haven’t hit the ground running this season and are currently languishing in 15th place in the league table.
The Cottagers have suffered due to injuries, with most of their forward line sidelined. Moreover, some key players who performed exceptionally well last season have looked a shadow of themselves thus far, especially their top goal-getter from last season, Raúl Jiménez. Even Alex Iwobi has been rendered ineffective due to playing in different positions. Meanwhile, Rodrigo Muniz is due for surgery and is likely to have a long spell on the sidelines.
Fulham need a forward. If Marco Silva is prepared to give up on the creativity in the middle of the park in favour of physical presence, he could do with an attacking midfielder capable of regularly chipping in with goals on top of creating chances.
One player of interest for Fulham is American centre-forward Ricardo Pepi from PSV, who has been in good nick this season. They have also been linked with Middlesbrough’s deep-lying playmaker Hayden Hackney.
Ultimately, getting reliable options in the final third of the pitch could very well be the difference between a comfortable mid-table finish and relegation for Marco Silva & Co.
Liverpool
Defending Champions Liverpool have struggled this season even after making record offensive signings in Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz. With a massive exodus from the club, the Reds seem to be in transition with the new players trying to click with the existing squad.
However, Liverpool’s issues are also related to positions they failed to address in the summer – a defensive midfielder and a centre-back. The Reds have still not been able to replace Fabinho who left ahead of the 2023/24 season and while Ryan Gravenberch performed well last season, he isn’t a deep-lying DM and Liverpool’s defensive issues on turnovers and counters have been exposed this season.
For the centre-back position, Liverpool had signed young Italian Giovanni Leoni in the summer and had a transfer rejected for Marc Guéhi on deadline day. With Leoni suffering a long-term Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury earlier this season, Liverpool is short on CB backups with Joe Gomez and Ibrahima Konaté being injury-prone. To add to Liverpool’s woes, Konaté has also been inconsistent and in the last year of his contract and not looking likely to sign a renewal.
Though rumours about a winger signing in Antoine Semenyo are making the rounds, I do believe that Liverpool needs a centre-back and a defensive midfield signing ahead of a winger.
Having splashed a lot of cash in the summer, I don’t see Liverpool looking for more than one signing and if it’s one player that Liverpool needs to secure in January, then it should be a centre-back signing to avoid a defensive crisis later in the season.
Manchester United
Manchester United had an abysmal Premier League last season, ending the season in a lowly 15th place with changes needed in most areas of the pitch.
As a result, Man United brought in PL proven stars in Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo and youngster Benjamin Šeško to reinvent their frontline. However, United seemed to have missed a trick in midfield.
With Ruben Amorim not showing faith in Kobbie Mainoo and Manuel Ugarte’s signing not having worked as expected, United’s issues this season have stemmed from their inability to control the game in midfield. They do have one of the best playmakers in Bruno Fernandes but United do not have a physical presence in midfield to help them on opposition counters or transitions. This was also evident from United going for Carlos Baleba in the summer to have defensive insurance in front of the backline but the deal didn’t go through.
Ruben Amorim is currently playing a 3-4-2-1 formation; his midfield pivot needs a top defensive midfielder besides Fernandes. Recent rumours about Manchester United wanting to sign Elliott Anderson from Nottingham Forest is proof that even the United head coach has realised what kind of a profile they are missing in their team. There are a couple of top defensive midfielders in the PL that can bolster this United team and help them compete for UCL qualification. While United are currently interested in Elliott Anderson, Nottingham Forest’s reported valuation of £100 million could be a deal-breaker. Instead, they could also go for Adam Wharton who is of a similar profile and would be a great addition to the United midfield for much less.
In case Man United is able to secure a top-class midfielder signing in the January window, they could have a realistic shot at UCL qualification this season.
Leeds United
Leeds United topped the Championship table in 2024/25 but Daniel Farke’s men have flattered to deceive yet again. While fellow-promoted side Sunderland have taken the league by storm, Leeds haven’t been able to have the same impact. They are currently sitting in 16th place, 2 points off the drop zone with problems galore.
Leeds’ major problem has been creativity, poor decision making in the final third and inability to score goals. They have scored a mere 10 goals in 11 games which points towards massive issues in the attack.
Leeds United could target Fulham winger Adama Traore who is pacy, likes to take on defenders and physical as well – the kind of profile they are missing in their front line. The Whites were also interested in Fulham’s Harry Wilson and AZ Alkmaar’s Troy Parrot in the summer who are decent players that can certainly upgrade their attacking threat.
However, with PSR limitations, Leeds United is treading on thin ice and would need to sell a few players before buying and then look at their options. If Leeds do not bring in the necessary reinforcements in the winter transfer window, they could be staring down at the possibility of relegation to the Championship next season.
West Ham United
The Hammers had a poor season in 2024/25, ending in 14th place, outside of the top-half of the league table and the departure of influential players like Mohammed Kudus has further weakened their attacking line.
As a result, West Ham haven’t started the 25/26 on the front foot either. The Hammers are currently sitting in relegation places and if the London club aspires to sustain top-flight football, they should definitely be looking for new signings in the January window.
West Ham have problems all over the pitch but I do believe they need reinforcement in central defence on priority as Max Killman and Jean-Claire Todibo are not able to handle the physicality and pace of the league. For context, West Ham has already conceded 23 goals in 11 games which is the second-highest goals conceded in the league after Wolverhampton Wanderers. However, due to PSR limitations, West Ham might have to look in other leagues to get defensive reinforcement as the PL ones would cost a bomb and there are some really talented young centre-backs in French Ligue 1. West Ham are reportedly looking at Alexsandro from Lille as a CB target as he is a solid CB with ball-playing ability that most modern teams require nowadays.
The Hammers should also be looking at a striker as the Niclas Füllkrug signing hasn’t worked for them and he might leave in the January window. For a striker signing, there have been reports of West Ham looking at Joshua Zirkzee of Manchester United and Troy Parrot of AZ Alkmaar as potential targets. Zirkzee hasn’t gotten regular play-time at United this season and as for Troy Parrot, he has been in top form this season but he plays in a weaker league. However, Parrot is the in-form player and Zirkzee has hardly gotten minutes, so it makes more sense to get the in-form Irish striker.
With the Premier League having gotten more competent this season, it’s imperative for West Ham to recognize the issues and make quality additions to their squad if they want to have any hope of Premier League survival.
