With around three and a half weeks left until the Premier League transfer deadline, it’s time for the big six to get serious about their signings as so many are still to address major weaknesses in their squads.
Manchester United have only signed two young and relatively unproven talents in Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Daniel James, while Arsenal desperately need to get their act together after so far only signing young Brazilian striker Gabriel Martinelli.
MORE: Talks held: Arsenal chief Edu working to rival Manchester United for exciting transfer
We’ve put together a list below of the one player each of the big six still needs in the final weeks of the transfer window.
Of course, we’re not including Chelsea in here due to their transfer ban, but read on for our transfer picks for Man Utd, Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham and Manchester City…
Man City – Joao Cancelo
It’s not easy to strengthen such a quality side, but Manchester City could perhaps do with a slightly better right-back than the erratic Kyle Walker.
Calciomercato, citing Tuttosport, state that Juventus’ Joao Cancelo is a top target for Pep Guardiola’s side and that a deal could be close.
The intelligent and versatile Portugal international could be just that little bit better than Walker and give MCFC a squad more capable of going all the way in the one competition that’s eluded them – the Champions League.
Tottenham – William Saliba
Tottenham reportedly seem set to hijack Arsenal’s move for Saint-Etienne wonderkid William Saliba, as per David Ornstein in the tweet below:
With Toby Alderweireld linked with Roma by Calciomercato, there’s no doubt Spurs could do with replacing him with a young centre-back.
Saliba looks to be up there with the finest young defensive players in Europe, and could improve even more under Mauricio Pochettino.
It just remains to be seen if Tottenham can ensure they sign Saliba straight away and don’t have to loan him back to Saint-Etienne for next season.
Man Utd – Harry Maguire
Strongly linked with Manchester United for so much of the summer, Harry Maguire makes sense as a top priority for the Red Devils.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side is very weak at the back, with the likes of Chris Smalling, Phil Jones and co. conceding 54 league goals last season – the club’s worst performance in that area in the Premier League era.
The Mail continue to link Maguire strongly with a £75m move to MUFC as he tells Leicester City he wants a move.
Fans will hope this can help move things along and give them a more solid outfit next season, even if, in truth, they still need more than one signing this summer.
It’s a hard pick between centre-back and central midfield, but we narrowly went for Maguire as the player this club needs, having seen the impact Virgil van Dijk had in turning Liverpool from a leaky, vulnerable outfit into one of the most solid sides in Europe.
Arsenal – Ruben Dias
As mentioned, Tottenham are now in the running for William Saliba, so Arsenal should focus on bringing in a defender they can use this season anyway.
The Mail have linked them with an interest in the £54m-rated Ruben Dias, and it’s hard to think of a better bargain on the market right now.
The young Portugal international surely has a big future in the game and could also make an instant impact at the Emirates Stadium.
Like United, CB is surely the one position Arsenal need to strengthen in most, having also finished outside of the top four last season due to conceding over 50 league goals.
Liverpool – James Maddison
Ok, in fairness it’s hard to think of any player Liverpool *urgently* need, but we’ll make a case for James Maddison.
Linked with the Reds earlier in the summer by the Daily Star, the 22-year-old looks absolutely tailor-made for Jurgen Klopp’s squad due to his technical ability, intelligence and work rate.
Maddison was superb in his first season in the Premier League and would surely only improve at one of the big six sides.
Liverpool arguably lack that link between midfield and attack, with their current crop of midfielders like Jordan Henderson, Fabinho and Georginio Wijnaldum more ball-winners than playmakers, with many of the team’s assists coming from attack-minded full-backs Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson.
Maddison might just give LFC that little bit more spark in the final third, allowing the lethal front three of Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane to score even more next season.