Premier League transfers: What Man United, City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and Spurs need

Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea are all expected to be busy

By Jonathan Johnson Aug 20, 2024 at 5:39 pm ET• 5 min read

We are just over one week out from the close of the summer transfer window which normally means an uptick in terms of how urgent clubs become with any late business that they have planned. The opening games of the season often inject fresh impetus into that feeling of urgency and this campaign looks to be no different despite fairly positive results for the Premier League's top six aside from Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur who both failed to register wins. Competition looks likely to be strong in the upper reaches of the EPL this term and we look at what the big six could need between now and next week's deadline.

Honorable mentions

Although not yet part of the widely recognized big six, Aston Villa and Newcastle United have arguably deserved that status ahead of the likes of Chelsea and possibly Tottenham in recent years given their improved standing under Unai Emery and Eddie Howe respectively. For the Villans, the situation remains simple -- they still need a reliable backup goalkeeper for Emiliano Martinez and an attacking reinforcement to play alongside or to alternate with Ollie Watkins. Joao Felix is now out of the picture for the Birmingham giants in attack but Wojciech Szczesny could be an option between the sticks but Villarreal CF seem keen as well. As for the Magpies, Marc Guehi has been their priority target for this window to reinforce the defense and those talks remain ongoing with Joe Gomez a possible alternative to Crystal Palace's England international.

Manchester City

Pep Guardiola's men currently look quite balanced despite the speculation linking them with a move to bring Ilkay Gundogan back to the club from Barcelona. Instead, the main area of interest for the defending champions should be a backup striker after Julian Alvarez left with Erling Haaland's fitness now potentially decisive in whether City succeed or fail this season. Another position to watch is goalkeeper in the event that Ederson makes a late move as looked possible earlier this summer. Liverpool have also been linked with Valencia CF's Giorgi Mamardashvili as Alisson's long-term replacement but it is hard to see the Georgia international playing second fiddle to anyone which would necessitate either an automatic starting role or a loan to a club in need of a new No. 1 albeit only for a season.

Arsenal

Goalkeeper options seem to be a common issue for Premier League clubs with Mikel Arteta's Gunners also facing this issue if Aaron Ramsdale is allowed to leave with Wolverhampton Wanderers now interested. A backup to David Raya means that Arsenal could be in a similar situation to Villa where they are looking for a backup option instead of a starter and those sorts of options are limited -- especially at this late stage. The Londoners could also be in a similar situation in attack if Eddie Nketiah is allowed to leave having been linked with moves away all window. Arteta does not make signings for the sake of it and will not be rushed into doing business but might feel that the squad is short of cover in one or two areas if both Ramsdale and Nketiah leave the Emirates Stadium within the next week. There is also the topic of the Spanish tactician's interest in Real Sociedad's Mikel Merino at the same time that Liverpool are chasing another Txuri-Urdin star in Martin Zubimendi.