Winning the Champions League is one thing, but staying on top and being a legitimate title contender year in and year out is another thing entirely and requires making the right signings at the right times.
Here are five signings that the traditional heavyweights – and new contenders – in the Champions League need to make in the summer 2025 transfer window in order to improve their chances of making the leap or building a true dynasty.
Trent Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid
Listen, Real Madrid needed to sign another right back five years ago, and while Dani Carvajal proved a lot of Madrid fans wrong by showing he has plenty left in the tank last season, he will be coming off an ACL tear in 2025/26 at the age of 33 at a physically demanding position.
Real Madrid need a new right back now more than ever before. And there is no better right back to buy on the planet than Trent Alexander-Arnold, a generational playmaker at the position who is headed into his prime at 26.
Better yet, he’s free, and that’s been the operant word for Real Madrid, whose aim is to sign the best players they can as free agents. It’s hard to envision Liverpool allowing such a player to walk for free, but there are people purporting this to be true.
To be clear, no deal is done yet, but as Fabrizio Romano reported, TAA is first, second, third, fourth, and five on the Real Madrid wishlist at right back. If they don’t sign him, they will have missed a once-in-a-decade opportunity.
Alexander Isak to Arsenal
Arsenal should have signed a top striker last summer, and now that they are more than 10 points behind Liverpool in the Premier League title race, there can be no excuses left for the club in the summer 2025 transfer window.
Perhaps Benjamin Sesko, Hugo Ekitike, and even Viktor Gyokeres would be more realistic options, but if Arsenal want to capitalize on their championship window, they need to go for the biggest fish in the proverbial pond.
Alexander Isak has been the best striker in the Premier League this season, bar none, and if there’s even the slightest of chances that Newcastle are open to hearing an offer, Arsenal have to pounce all over it.
Look, if Arsenal were willing to spend over 100 million pounds on Declan Rice, then they should be willing to spend more than that amount to sign Isak, who can make a much more profound impact on the final scoreline than the English midfielder.
Martin Zubimendi to Liverpool
Liverpool have been the best team in the Premier League this season without any shadow of a doubt, but their early exit from the Champions League proved that, yet again, Liverpool don’t have enough overall quality to beat the truly elite teams in European football on a consistent basis.
The new project under Arne Slot has been accelerating forward, as the Dutch manager has done a great job of taking the foundation Jurgen Klopp laid for him to the next level.
But in order to reach another gear, Liverpool need more technical players. A striker to replace Darwin Nunez will be key, but Liverpool are missing a true conducting force in the midfield just as much.
Real Sociedad star Martin Zubimendi is wanted by a multiple top clubs for a reason; he can dictate a game on and off the ball. After Thiago Alcantara failed to take off at Anfield due to recurring injuries, Liverpool need to secure the best up-and-coming orchestrator in European football.
Nico Williams to Bayern Munich
Florian Wirtz would be a brilliant addition to the Bayern Munich ranks, but with Jamal Musiala already ruling the attacking midfield, signing Wirtz would be more about making the statement of adding an embarrassment of riches at the expense of the club’s biggest title rival.
When it comes to an addition that makes the most sense tactically, a new left winger who can create and win one-on-ones regularly is the best bet for Bayern. Kingsley Coman and Serge Gnabry have declined to such an extent that they are, effectively, unusable in the year 2025.
Nico is on the rise, and while he plays for a potential Champions League side in Athletic Club, he could shine to an even greater extent at Bayern with the surrounding talent he’d have.
As a winger who likes to make things happen and stretch the pitch out wide, Williams would have potentially even more room to roam with Harry Kane and Jamal Musiala pulling so many men into the middle of the pitch.
Michael Olise has been a home run signing for Bayern, but the world-class right winger needs someone on the left who can take pressure off him and be more of a wide creator. Williams is that guy, and he and Olise could form a tandem similarly devastating to the one Williams formed with Lamine Yamal for Spain at Euro 2024.
Florian Wirtz to Manchester City
Manchester City made the two biggest winter signings this year in center back Abdukodir Khusanov and forward Omar Marmoush, but they still need a lot more talent if they want to get back to the summit of the Premier League.
Their midfield, in particular, is abhorrent. They have too many over-the-hill, washed-up players taking up minutes and just about no chance creation against the top sides due to Kevin De Bruyne’s nagging injuries and abrupt decline.
Manchester City need someone young and hungry who can lead the team by example on the pitch. They need someone who can take defenders on, slip into the penalty box against low blocks, find passes when nobody is open, and run the point guard in Pep Guardiola’s system.
Florian Wirtz is the best prospect Germany has produced in a long time. He is outperforming even Musiala in the Bundesliga and has an undefeated season to boot as THE clear main threat in that Bayer Leverkusen side.
Every team in European football should want him, including Bayern Munich and then Real Madrid and Barcelona in LaLiga. But no team needs Wirtz as a playmaking, ball-progressing attacking midfielder than Manchester City. Erling Haaland and Marmoush have to be begging Pep to make this move in the summer.
Joe Soriano covers West Ham for Green Street Hammers and writes about Real Madrid for The Real Champs. He has extensive experience covering world football since 2014. Joe is an editor for The Trivela Effect, where he covers the biggest clubs in European football. He has watched professional sports regularly since 2002 and can be found playing the same sports he covers with his friends.