Let’s take a look at the best possible signing to fill the biggest need for Aston Villa, Tottenham, and Newcastle as all three clubs vie for a coveted top-four position in the 2024/25 Premier League season.
Newcastle: Right Winger
Newcastle were supposed to sell Miguel Almiron to the Saudi Pro League this summer, which, theoretically, shouldn’t have been a difficult task, given the Magpies are also owned by Saudi Arabia.
Almiron would be a very useful veteran left-footed winger in the Saudi Pro League, but after a poor 2023/24 Premier League season, it’s become clear that his 2022/23 campaign was an anomaly and that his level is far below the standard Anthony Gordon and Alexander Isak have been setting in the Newcastle attack.
If the Magpies want to get back to the Champions League, then they are going to need a much stronger starting XI, because the jury is honestly out on them even being good enough to qualify for the Europa League with how competitive the English Premiership has gotten.
Jacob Murphy has already displaced Almiron as the main starter on the right wing, and he offers better work rate and more creativity with two assists on the season.
But in terms of overall technical quality and athleticism, Murphy is definitely lacking and isn’t truly an out-and-out right winger by trade. Newcastle are going to have to do better.
One potentially unorthodox decision could be a move for Moussa Diaby, who was a big get by Aston Villa in summer 2023 before they cast him aside this past summer, cashing in on a 52 million pound transfer to Al-Ittihad.
Diaby is still only 25 years old and was one of the best right wingers in Europe just a couple of seasons ago for Bayer Leverkusen, but if Newcastle were to sign him, they’d have to hope their friends in Saudi Arabia would be willing to sell at a discounted price.
More likely, Newcastle will move for an up-and-coming right winger currently establishing himself in a top-five European league. Since Christian Pulisic is probably off the table due to his importance to AC Milan, Newcastle could go for his left-footed teammate Samuel Chukwueze, who may be dangled as transfer bait this winter.
Another enticing option would be Edon Zhegrova, who was one of the most underrated right wingers in world football before 1) Serie A clubs started calling Lille aggressively last summer and 2) He tore Real Madrid to shreds in Les Dogues’ Champions League upset on Matchday 2.
Aston Villa: Right Back
Aston Villa still haven’t solved their right back problem, and with so many key investments in the squad, it’s about time the club seeking back-to-back Champions League qualification reenforced this key position.
Starting-caliber right backs are a rare commodity, so Aston Villa may have to think outside the box. Since they have a great goalkeeper and group of center backs, a more attacking option would make sense.
If Aston Villa go that route, Fiorentina’s Dodo is a very talented footballer who is finally showing his best level to start the 2024/25 season for the Viola, who look like a good bet to sneak into a Europa League place.
The issue for Aston Villa is that the two best options for them, Fiorentina’s Dodo and Monaco’s Vanderson, are going to be exceedingly difficult to sign immediately in January because of how much their underdog clubs will be playing for in their respective leagues this season; Monaco have an outside shot at winning Ligue 1.
I think Unai Emery prefers defensive profiles at right back, given he had Juan Foyth as a key player at Villarreal, so Vanderson may be favored here. But Villa could ultimately decide to go for the best market opportunity, in which case Lille’s young Tiago Santos has to be on the shortlist, too.
Tottenham: Center Midfield
There are so many bizarre takes about why Tottenham can’t quite maintain consistency and avoid blowing leads, but the answer is not in their supposed DNA but rather in the fact that Spurs still failed to adequately upgrade their midfield this past summer.
Swedish international Dejan Kulusevski has been one of the revelations of the Premier League this season in a midfield role and was the catalyst for Spurs’ 4-1 demolition of local rivals West Ham this past weekend.
However, Tottenham could become much stronger top-four contenders with a more stabilizing presence in the middle of the park who can playmake from deep and cover defensively.
Tottenham should go for an experienced player, as they’ve already invested heavily in young midfield prospects this past summer. Monaco’s Denis Zakaria is a possible option who checks off all the boxes tactically and technically as one of the most intelligent midfield players in European football.
However, Zakaria has an extensive injury history, which caused him to fail at Chelsea and Juventus, and, like Vanderson, he may be deemed too important to Monaco’s title hopes.
At the same time, it’s hard to see many alternatives available in the winter transfer window, as Tottenham don’t need to gamble on a youngster who won’t be integrated within six months, nor should they even contemplate overpaying for a veteran midfielder who won’t help and could only be an albatross contractually in the years thereafter.
If Tottenham really want to shock the world, Jan Schoppner is one of several hidden secrets at Heidenheim in the Bundesliga with 3.5 combined tackles and interceptions and one key pass per game, but he’s honestly not at the Champions League standard Spurs should aim to set.
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He covered Real Madrid from 2019-2022 for The Real Champs as a site manager. His work has been featured in ESPN, Bleacher Report, Yahoo! Sports, NBC Sports, and other major outlets. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.