After part one of our Christmas wish list for every Premier League manager, we’re completely filling the stocking now.
Louis van Gaal – Manchester United
The best thing that Louis van Gaal could bring to Old Trafford would be a new medical team. Manchester United have accrued around 300 injuries since the Dutchman took over from an over-his-head David Moyes, or at least it seems that way. But in terms of playing personnel, LVG could do a lot worse than bring in a reliable centre-back to help out goalkeeper save machine David de Gea.
Paddy McNair and Tyler Blackett will be excellent players but they’re nowhere near ready to be starting big games in the Premier League so we’re sure that Louis will be hoping to see a strong, established defender underneath his Christmas tree. The way-too-long pursuit of Mats Hummels could come to an end and the German international, who must be getting tired of languishing towards the bottom of the Bundesliga with Dortmund, could sure up an otherwise dodgy United back line.
Alan Pardew – Newcastle
The headbutting Londoner could do with a reliable goalscorer to play alongside Papiss Cisse or to provide cover if the Senegalese picks up a knock.
The two options are to purchase an experienced, fading striker on the cheap or to show faith in youth by plumping on a promising forward like Danny Ings. His contract at Burnley runs out in the summer and it’s understood that he could be let go for less than £4million.
Harry Redknapp – Queens Park Rangers
Where on earth is Pedro Mendes? And is he available on a free? ‘Arry will need someone to stand up and be counted in the second half of the season just as Mendes did for him when he made his long-awaited return to Portsmouth when they were fighting for Premier League survival.
Wholesale defensive changes are than likely not the answer because the length of time it will take for new defenders to gel and mesh into the current system is shorter than Redknapp’s temper.
One big-name player who could weigh in with important goals in the dying days of the season is Ireland skipper Robbie Keane, someone Harry knows all too well. Speaking about the player, the QPR boss said: ‘Robbie’s a good shout – he’s a good pro. He would be the ideal type to have around for sure because he would give us something. I haven’t spoken to him yet, but he would be an interesting player.’
Ronald Koeman – Southampton
After a stellar start to the season, Saints have faltered in recent weeks and will be looking at some reinforcements when the transfer window opens. One area that Koeman will be looking to strengthen will be the midfield. Southampton’s current midfielders Dusan Tadic, Morgan Schneiderlin and Sadio Mane are prone to leaving gaps in behind them when they steam forward.
A player with Premier League experience who could plug that gap is former Man City player Javi Garcia. The Spaniard is currently playing for Zenit St Petersburg but could be looking for a return to England after Andre Villas-Boas’ side crashed out of the Champions League.
Mark Hughes – Stoke
Mark Hughes is continuing to attempt to rid the Potters of their reputation for long-ball, dogged football and he could be set to bring another creative player to help cement the new philosophy.
The top target for Stoke is apparently Arsenal’s Joel Campbell who has become disenfranchised with the lack of opportunities in the first team. The diverse skills of a front three containing Peter Crouch, Bojan Krkic and Campbell would undoubtedly cause problems for any defence.
Gus Poyet – Sunderland
Poyet will be hoping to see a familiar face sticking out of his stocking on Christmas morning as the Uruguayan is being linked with a reunion with Fabio Borini. Goals are about as common as an Alan Shearer tattoo around the Stadium of Light and former loanee Borini is seen as a possible solution to that problem.
Liverpool’s Borini has not played as big a part for Brendan Rodgers this season as he might have liked and, having turned down a permanent move north in the summer could now see a switch to the Black Cats as a lifeline. The Italian fired home 10 goals in 40 appearances for Sunderland in a loan spell last season so is familiar with life on Wearside.
Garry Monk – Swansea
Most of Garry Monk’s winter work will be done in maintaining his squad. His most influential player, Wilfried Bony, is very likely to make the move from Wales to England with a host of clubs looking for the Ivorian’s signature. If that does happen, Monk will want to have a replacement in place because Bony’s current understudy Bafetimbi Gomis is also a possible departure from the Liberty Stadium.
A move for Leo Baptistao could be in the pipeline for the Swans, with the Brazilian looking to make a bigger name for himself in the world’s most watched league. The 22-year-old is currently on loan at Rayo Vallecano from Atletico Madrid and he could be just the present that the Welsh side need this Christmas.
Mauricio Pochettino – Tottenham Hotspur
Organisation and concentration has been a weak point at the back for Spurs in the first half of the season and Pochettino will be keen to remedy this by bringing in a top-class defender. Federico Fazio and Younes Kaboul are a far cry from the great Ledley King in terms of Spurs defenders and the North London club will need to get some more reliable heads in at the back.
Pochettino would be saying ‘you shouldn’t have’ in broken English if he was to receive Napoli defender Raul Albiol in Secret Santa this year. The Spaniard, who signed for Napoli from Real Madrid last year, would improve the defensive options available to the Spurs boss which is something that he has expressed concern about throughout this season.
Alan Irvine – West Brom
Alan Irvine shouldn’t get his hopes up too much for a spectacular present like an iPhone 6 or an X-Box 360 this Christmas. He should perhaps set his sights a little lower, maybe an abacus would be appropriate. The West Brom manager has himself admitted that the funds aren’t there for big-money buys this winter but a solid Championship defender would do the job for the Baggies.
Irvine would be over the moon if the behind-the-scene folk at The Hawthorns could secure a move for Bournemouth defender Steve Cook. The 23-year-old has been an ever-present for Eddie Howe’s table-topping Cherries this season and would be expected to sure up West Brom’s leaky defence.
Sam Allardyce – West Ham
An XXXL T-shirt with an image of himself and a caption ‘I’m great!’ would be a great stocking-filler for Big Sam but, hey, he’s earned a signing or two as well. To be fair, the Hammers are probably the club who deserve the most plaudits as 2014 comes to a close. They are performing far beyond what most expected of them in August and don’t have any gaping holes in their squad.
Allardyce won’t be too bothered if he sees no new players under his Christmas tree but the West Ham board seem to want to build for the future with the purchase of a young centre-back. Fulham’s 22-year-old defender Dan Burn fits the bill perfectly. The 6ft 7in defender played a handful of Premier League games last year for Fulham and has appeared in 15 of Fulham’s games this season which means he may not be as raw a player as you might think.
