One transfer to help Madrid, Barcelona, Arsenal & Liverpool win the Champions League

Analysis

The Champions League knockout rounds are well underway.

We are halfway through the round of 16, with the first-legs done and the second-legs a week away. And already some narratives are clear.

Not only are narratives clear, but squad needs are clear. The eight favourites for the Champions League may all be oozing quality but they also have gaps in their team.

Gaps they could have plugged in January, but didn't. And now they could become the kind of glaring weakness that gets targeted and ends up causing these elite sides getting knocked out of the Champions League.

READ MORE: Champions League top scorers 2024/25: Kane closes in on leaders with double

Obviously the transfer window is shut, but based on what we've seen so far, if the eight best teams left in the Champions League could sign one more player, who would that be?

(One rule is that, even though we're in a hypothetical scenario, the signing itself should be realistic for the club in question, otherwise it'd just be eight entries titles "Erling Haaland" rinse and repeat).

Liverpool: Milos Kerkez

Liverpool's first XI is pretty fantastic, they have coverage in almost every area. Their two main weaknesses are striker and left-back.

And while striker is a problem there definitely is a proper player somehwere in Darwin Nunez (somewhere deep within), as evidenced by his assist against PSG.

But against PSG, while the whole Liverpool defence suffered, no one suffered more than Andy Robertson. Liverpool's left-back has struggled all season and, even though he is only 30, is clearly a player in decline.

Enter Milos Kerkez, Bournemouth's Hungarian international left-back and one of the sensations of this Premier League season.

Liverpool may well sign Kerkez in the summer, but they would love to be able to snag him now because he would give the left side of their defence a boost at both ends of the pitch, much in the way Robertson did when he broke into the team all those years ago.

Barcelona: Nico Williams

Barcelona's three major transfer needs are quite obvious. Goalkeeper, winger and striker. But while Wojciech Szczesny and Robert Lewandowski's performances mean they can wait for goalkeeper and striker, their need for a winger is immediate.

Sure, in Lamine Yamal and Raphinha Barcelona have arguably the best starting wing duo on the planet. But they have no one behind them, having to use Ferran Torres (who only excels at striker) or Fermin Lopez (a no. 10).

And given Lamine Yamal is 17 years-old and should be resting more than he is, Barcelona need another winger. And they would love to be able to go back and grab Nico Williams from Athletic Club, the player they were after in the summer.

Nico can play off either wing, shoot, dribble and cross like a demon. He'd be a perfect player to alternate with Lamine Yamal and Raphinha, ensuring that Barcelona would always have a top quality player on the bench and that their wingers wouldn't burn out. This would give them the depth needed to make their first deep run in the Champions League since 2019.

Inter Milan: Theo Hernandez

Against Feyenoord, Inter Milan had to play with their centre-back Alessandro Bastoni at wing-back to cover for the injured Federico Dimarco and Matteo Darmian.

They got away with it against an inferior side like Feyenoord, but against a better team their balance would be thrown off by having to remove Bastoni from his best position (not to mention not having a true offensive threat at wing-back).

So... why not snag Theo Hernandez from local rivals Milan? The French international is having problems with the Rossoneri largely stemming from being unable to agree a new contract. Hernandez's current deal expires in 2026 and he's been a disgruntled presence all season long as a result.

Milan would be delighted to get rid of him, probably even sending him to Inter and continuing the long history of players who have represented both Milan clubs (and as someone who has already played for both Madrid sides, Theo Hernandez has no issues around loyalty).

Imagine Inter being able to always have one of Theo Hernandez or Federico Dimarco on the field? That strength in depth would be monstrous and give them such a massive edge in winning their first Champions League since 2010.

READ MORE: Lamine Yamal chooses Chelsea target as DREAM Barcelona signing

Bayern Munich: Gregor Kobel

Manuel Neuer is injured again. The German giant gets hurt on a regular basis now and Bayern need a better replacement than Daniel Peretz who proved earlier this season that he isn't up to the task.

Given Bayern's history poaching players from other Bundesliga clubs, and their need for a goalkeeper, if they were able to snatch Kobel they would have a stopper worthy of backing up and even fully replacing Neuer.

Real Madrid: Joshua Kimmich

Speaking of Bayern, their star man Joshua Kimmich has a contract that expires this summer and there's still no sign of a renewal.

Real Madrid are desperate for a controlling midfield playmaker to fill the giant gap that Toni Kroos has left in the Madrid midfield.

Dani Ceballos has done a decent job filling in, but even he is now injured for two months. Madrid need something more, something better.

Joshua Kimmich has everything to step right into Toni Kroos' shoes. He's German, he has an expansive passing range, he's a set-piece expert, he's a proven winner at the highest level. It's kind of a no-brainer!

PSG: Victor Osimhen

PSG rattled off 27 shots (10 on target) without scoring against Liverpool. Their dominance was absurd they just didn't have anyone to put the ball in.

And this is the flaw with relying on a false nine system, you need your wingers and attacking midfielders to all be playing in a perfect rhythm.

Meanwhile elite strikers give you tremendous margin for error by simply being better converters of chances.

READ MORE: Victor Osimhen to Arsenal? The TRUTH revealed

PSG already raised Napoli to get Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. And they would love to be able to go back to Southern Italy and pick-up Victor Osimhen (currently on loan at Galatasaray) because put him at the head of their team and they would have devoured Liverpool in Paris and would have an incredible chance to go and beat the Reds at Anfield.

Atletico Madrid: Murillo

Atletico Madrid's squad is so well crafted there almost isn't a single weakness. But one area they could always use more bodies is centre-back.

Robin Le Normand is good but not great, the same can be said for Clement Lenglet. Josema Gimenez is potentially great but is also inconsistent and can make the odd blunder (like getting stitched up by Brahim Diaz against Real Madrid).

Murillo is the 22 year-old centre-back taking the Premier League by storm with Nottingham Forest. He is physically dominant, confident on the ball and at ease in both a back four and a back three.

There may be questions about his ability to play a high-line, but Atleti operate mostly out of a low block anyway. So adding Murillo to their already monstrous defence would make them so much harder to beat, allowing their sterling strikeforce to get the goals necessary to guide them to glory.

Arsenal: Jonathan Burkardt

Like PSG, Arsenal need a striker.

Not against PSV, for sure. The Gunners hammered seven goals beyond Walter Benitez in the PSV goal. But stiffer tests will await and they came into that game having failed to score in three of their previous four games.

READ MORE: Arsenal get POSITIVE signal from Sesko

It's not realistic that Arsenal would go out and spend nearly €100 million to sign a striker, if they were to do that they'd have already signed someone like Osimhen or Alexander Isak. No, they have to be more sensible.

How about Jonathan Burkardt, then?

The German striker has 14 goals in the Bundesliga, only four players have more. What's more he's playing for Mainz not one of the superclubs, and his goals have been so influential the tiny club are actually all the way up in fourth place. Burkardt genuinely might fire them into Europe!

The Gunners have been linked with a move for Benjamin Sesko, but while he has a better all-around skill-set he's not the lethal poacher that Arsenal really need. Burkardt's goalscoring could fire Arsenal to Champions League glory (and had they actually moved for him in January, maybe they would still be in the Premier League title race!)