The January transfer window is about to open - but which Premier League side will do the best bit of business this time?
From title contenders looking to strengthen their squad to struggling teams searching for new faces who can turn their season around, it is a chance for sides to spend some cash - well, some of them at least.
BBC football expert Mark Lawrenson looks at each top-flight side and examines who they need to sign, or whether they need to put down the shutters to fend off bids for their best players.
Key: GK: Goalkeeper; CB: Centre-back; LB: Left-back; RB: Right-back; CM: Central midfielder; LM: Left-midfielder; RM: Right-midfielder; FW: Forward; CF: Centre-forward
Arsenal - 4th (position in Premier League)
Stat attack: Arsenal's shot conversion rate of 19.6% is second only to Liverpool, but they have created the fewest chances of any of the top six teams and their overall shooting accuracy is only the 11th best in the top flight.
Window shopping: Collectively, Arsenal are having a very average period so their squad is under scrutiny with the window about to open but, being realistic about who they might get, it is hard to solve their problems with one or two signings in January.
Their problems are more mental than physical. They have got the players and there are no obvious weaknesses in the team other than in the centre of midfield, where they are missing Santi Cazorla.
The Spaniard makes them tick - but they are not going to sign someone to replace him when he will be back from injury in a couple of months.
Linked with (Player, age, position and club): Dimitri Payet, 29, CM (West Ham United), Jordan Pickford, 22, GK (Sunderland), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, 27, CF(Borussia Dortmund), Isco, 24, CM (Real Madrid),Guillaume Hubert, 22, GK (Standard Liege), Kostas Manolas, 25, CB (Roma), Jose Gaya, 21, LB (Valencia), Marco Reus, 27, LM (Borussia Dortmund), Diego Laxalt, 23, CM (Genoa), Carlos Bacca, 30, CF (AC Milan).
Bournemouth - 12th
Stat attack: Bournemouth are ranked 14th for number of chances created but are seventh in shooting accuracy (46.47%) and shot conversion (15.3%).
Window shopping: I agree with Cherries boss Eddie Howe when he says he does not think his squad needs major surgery - I don't think they have a desperate need to sign anyone, which is one of the reasons they are not being linked with many players.
They are good going forward and have started to improve a little bit defensively, too. They have still got quite a bit of work to do at the back, but they are an improving team who are looking up rather than down the table.
Linked with (Player, age, position and club): Nathan Ake, 21, CB (Chelsea) - permanent deal, Conor Chaplin, 19, CF (Portsmouth).
Burnley - 14th
Stat attack: Burnley have the highest tackling success rate of 76.4% but have faced the most shots on target (113) and, between them, their goalkeepers have saved the most shots as well (84).
Window shopping: Signing Joey Barton makes sense. He played under Sean Dyche last season and they have got a good relationship. Dyche knows what Barton is like in the dressing room and how to handle him, so it is a no-brainer really.
That deal obviously depends on any ban the midfielder gets over his betting charges. I imagine his contract will be designed so that if he gets a 20-game ban, then there will no longer be a contract.
I would understand if Dyche brought in a couple of other players, but they are not going to be signings that will blow anyone out of the water.
For starters, he will not risk upsetting the spirit of the squad because that is one of their major strengths - and Burnley are also not going to break the bank to try to stay up.
Linked with (Player, age, position and club): Luciano Narsingh, 26, FW (PSV Eindhoven), Marc Roberts, 26, CB (Barnsley), Jordan Rhodes, 26, CF (Middlesbrough).
Chelsea - 1st
Stat attack: Chelsea have conceded the fewest goals (11) and have kept more clean sheets (11) than any other team in their first 18 games. Blues boss Antonio Conte has made the fewest changes to his starting XIs than any other Premier League manager - just 15 since the start of the season.
| Premier League line-up changes, 2016-17 | |
|---|---|
| Most | Fewest |
| 1. Man City - 61 | 18. Hull City - 23 |
| 2. Swansea - 45 | 19. West Brom - 18 |
| 3. Sunderland - 43 | 20. Chelsea - 15 |
Window shopping: Belgium striker Michy Batshuayi joined for £33m in the summer but is obviously not ready as far as Conte is concerned. Whether the Italian thinks the 23-year-old will be ready soon is unclear, but the fact he left him out when Diego Costa was suspended against Bournemouth said a lot.
Up front is the only area where Chelsea look a bit short. I don't think they will sign anyone, but if they do it might be similar to when Manchester United signed Henrik Larsson at the age of 35 during the 2006-07 season.
By that I mean an experienced striker who would get them goals in the short-term. I don't know who the 2017 version of Larsson would be, or whether they could get him, but that is the type of player they might be after.
I don't see any other weaknesses in their squad. Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp was right when he said recently that Chelsea's best players have remained free of injuries so far, but they have got cover and they would have to have quite a few injuries to affect them badly.
For example, Willian can come into the regular trio of attacking midfielders, Cesc Fabregas replaces Nemanja Matic or N'Golo Kante when they are not available and John Terry and Kurt Zouma back up the back three.
Linked with (Player, age, position and club): James Rodriguez, 25, FW (Real Madrid), Diego Laxalt, 23, CM (Genoa), Dimitri Payet, 29, CM (West Ham United), Radja Nainggolan, 28, CM (Roma), Jan Oblak, 23, GK (Atletico Madrid), Hakan Calhanoglu, 22, FW (Bayer Leverkusen), Steven N'Zonzi, 28, CM (Sevilla), Virgil van Dijk, 25, CB (Southampton), Marco Verratti, 24, CM (Paris St-Germain), Franck Kessie, 20, CM (Atalanta), Djibril Sidibe, 24, LB (Monaco), Tiemoue Bakayoko, 22, CM (Monaco).
Crystal Palace - 17th
Stat attack: Only the top five teams have scored more goals than Palace this season and the Eagles are ranked ninth for total shots (173) and sixth for shot conversion (16.76%).
However, along with Hull, they have only had one clean sheet this season - and only the Tigers and Swansea have conceded more goals.
Window shopping: There is no doubt that new Palace boss Sam Allardyce will buy players in January. He is very good at finding players from outside the UK, so I don't necessarily think it will be a case of him signing people who have played under him before.
Generally, Allardyce works from the back and then moves up the pitch. I can see him signing another centre-back, even if it is just a way of getting the ones he has already got to up their game.
Palace did not always have a natural holding midfielder in their team under Alan Pardew - Mile Jedinak was sold to Aston Villa, Joe Ledley has not always played and Yohan Cabaye is not that sort of player. I think that position will also be one of Allardyce's priorities.
Linked with (Player, age, position and club): Kieran Gibbs, 27, LB (Arsenal), Lucas Lima, 26, CM (Santos), Aleksandar Mitrovic, 22, CF (Newcastle United), Jermain Defoe, 34, CF, (Sunderland).
Everton - 7th
Stat attack: Plenty of shots on target, but not many goals. Everton have the third-best shooting accuracy - 48.9% - but their shot-conversion rate of 13.5% is only the 13th best.
Window shopping: Teenage forward Ademola Lookman is on his way from Charlton and that will only be the start. I think they will do quite a bit of business in every area of the team.
I can see them being one of the busier teams and their manager Ronald Koeman will do as much as he can.
The Dutchman will have money to spend too. I get the impression that the new owner might be thinking to himself, 'let's have a little bit of a go'.
Linked with (Player, age, position and club): Memphis Depay, 22, FW (Manchester United), Morgan Schneiderlin, 27, CM (Manchester United),Moussa Sissoko, 27, CM (Tottenham), Jordan Amavi, 22, LB (Aston Villa),Aymen Abdennour, 27, CB (Valencia), Callum Wilson, 24, CF (Bournemouth), Rodrigo, 25, CF (Valencia), Lamine Kone, 27, CB (Sunderland), Virgil van Dijk, 25, CB (Southampton), Alan Dzagoev, 26, CM (CSKA Moscow), Manolo Gabbiadini, 25, CF (Napoli).
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