Osimhen and Kone to Liverpool? Ten players in dire need of a Premier League move in January | OneFootball

Victor Osimhen, Manu Kone and Keylor Navas could all do with a Premier League move in January.

Some of these players can’t get on the pitch, others are playing for a team unable to win to save themselves, while a couple are shining for a team well below their means.

Here are ten players we think should be rescued by a Premier League club in the winter transfer window.

Youssoufa Moukoko (Borussia Dortmund) It was news of Moukoko’s desire to leave Dortmund in January that inspired this article.

The highly-rated 18-year-old got a solid run out in his side’s opening day win over Koln, playing a little over half an hour. And with the score at 0-0 when he came on, he was probably chuffed with the end result. Minutes have been very hard to come by since that win on August 19, though. Moukoko played 16 minutes in the next three Bundesliga games before being an unused substitute in their three subsequent fixtures.

A player of Moukoko’s potential should be playing consistently and this is a rare case of a teenage prodigy not progressing well at Dortmund, a club famous for developing young talent.

Liverpool and Chelsea have both been linked with the Germany international, though the former will apparently not look to sign him in January. A loan deal seems the most likely scenario after Moukoko signed a new three-and-a-half-year contract last winter. There is also believed to be interest from Brentford, Wolves, Lazio, Fiorentina, Lens and Lyon.

Victor Osimhen (Napoli) You don’t see too many transfers of this pedigree in the winter transfer window, so it is a bit of a long shot. Saying that, transfer expert Ben Jacobs says it cannot be ruled out, so that is enough for us to work with.

There are several top clubs in the market for a new No. 9 and it would be fair to say Osimhen is the best in the world in that position. It probably isn’t a correct statement, but you would not be shot down for suggesting it was.

Outside of the Premier League, you have Real Madrid who could be in contention for the Nigerian striker, who is expected to cost at least £150m. Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain seem sorted for strikers now, so it is probably between Los Blancos – who are unlikely to pursue Osimhen in January – and Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea for the player’s signature.

After an incredible 2022/23 campaign for Osimhen and Napoli, the 24-year-old’s relationship with his club is wavering after a bizarre TikTok video seemingly mocking him was followed by a statement explaining the clip, but not apologising to the guy who fired them to a first league title in over three decades. On top of this, Osimhen is yet to sign the new contract put on the table months ago and Napoli are hardly thriving under new manager Rudi Garcia.

Osimhen still has an impressive six goals in eight Serie A appearances this term, but he is not loving life in Naples at this moment in time.

Hugo Ekitike (Paris Saint-Germain) You’ve seen his name hundreds of times but haven’t seen him kick a football before, have you? Well, Ekitike is back and we are here to tell you that he needs to come to the Premier League so we can see what he is all about.

PSG are pretty bitter about the fact they had to sign Randal Kolo Muani without having Ekitike as a makeweight in the negotiations with Frankfurt. After coughing up €95m for the 24-year-old, the club’s bosses ditched his compatriot from their Ligue 1 squad, meaning the eight minutes Ekitike got against FC Lorient on matchday one will likely be his only game time for his current club this season.

It is unclear whether or not he will be sold or loaned, but Ekitike is bound to leave PSG in January. West Ham need a striker. Chelsea are pretty desperate as well and Ekitike is only 21 years old so you just know Todd Boehly is foaming at the mouth.

As we already touched on, it would be nice to see the Frenchman come to England just for proof he actually exists.

Rayan Cherki (Lyon) From one struggling Frenchman to another, Chelsea target Rayan Cherki is yet to provide a single goal contribution for Lyon this season, with the French giants sat bottom of Ligue 1 with zero wins, three draws, and six losses from their opening nine fixtures.

It is bleak and although he is not performing, Cherki will probably look to leave in the winter transfer window. If he decides to stay instead of jumping ship with Lyon in a relegation battle, that would be very admirable. However, Boehly has a spending addiction and he needs his latest hit.

Manu Kone (Borussia Monchengladbach) So, Gladbach have been absolutely pants this season. Furthermore, Kone is back to full fitness and is the kind of profile several top teams need. It makes sense for him to leave and it makes even more sense for teams in the Premier League to pursue him.

Liverpool need to make this happen.

Piero Hincapie (Bayer Leverkusen) Bayer Leverkusen have been the most impressive team in Europe this season. Xabi Alonso is doing a superb job in Germany and it is abundantly clear that he is going to be a top, top coach, and one whose next job will probably be at Real Madrid or Liverpool.

But when something is not broke, there is no need to fix it. With Leverkusen shining, promising young defender Hincapie has found himself on the bench, which is less than ideal for a player of his ability and potential.

The Ecuadorean’s minutes in the Bundesliga have been very scarce, even with Alonso using three central defenders in his system. Tottenham were linked in the past and despite the summer addition of Micky van de Ven, Ange Postecoglou could do with another player in that position.

Failing that, Jurgen Klopp is in the market for a young centre-back. It will probably be Hincapie or Sporting’s Goncalo Inacio.

Dani Ceballos (Real Madrid) Ceballos knows his role at Real Madrid but it still can’t be nice to struggle for minutes, even in a side addicted to winning football matches. The former Arsenal loanee has only played 73 minutes across all competitions this season after signing a new four-year contract in June.

He has been strongly linked with Aston Villa, which is a deal that makes sense but is also a very easy rumour to make up given Unai Emery’s position at the club. Still, it makes sense. So it must be true. People never lie on the internet.

Keylor Navas (Paris Saint-Germain) Last season, we discovered that Navas was one of the players we didn’t know we had to witness in the Premier League before they retired. He helped Nottingham Forest stay up and has returned to Paris to play back-up to Gianluigi Donnarumma. At the age of 36, he might be happy with that role. We are not, though. A goalkeeper of his ability should be playing.

A return to the City Ground is out of the question. Maybe Mikel Arteta should throw a third top-class goalkeeper into the mix purely for the sake of it?

If not to a Premier League club, Navas should seek a move elsewhere.

Serhou Guirassy (Stuttgart) Who doesn’t want a striker who averages nearly two goals per game? Well, Stuttgart apparently. A £15m release clause, guys? Really?

For that price, Guirassy will be one of the most sought-after players in Europe when the transfer window reopens. Reports suggest the 27-year-old does not want to leave the German club in January but we say he should jump ship while his stock is high.

This is a purple patch. He has not become world-class overnight at the age of 27. Come to the Premier League while you can, fella. Anything outside Our League is completely irrelevant.

Crysencio Summerville (Leeds) We did initially aim to focus on players plying their trade outside of England but Summerville deserves some praise for carrying Leeds United up the Championship table.

The young winger has done just that with four goals and two assists to start the season, which is some good karma after being the only one of the club’s three top wingers (alongside Willy Gnonto and Luis Sinisterra) not to push for a move in the summer.

A few Premier League sides could do with a player like Summerville but the 21-year-old should only leave for the right team. He deserves to be playing in the top flight but it is no good leaving a club in a good position to go up for someone like Bournemouth or Burnley, who are in a spot of bother.