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When Lucas Leiva was ruled out of action for up to two months, you could almost feel the anguish coming from Anfield from the comfort of your home. The Brazilian has been pivotal to the Reds’ success this season and his presence will certainly be missed for the remainder of the season. Brendan Rodgers hand may be forced somewhat into snapping up a replacement, and according to the Independent that man could be former Manchester City midfielder Nigel De Jong.

Although Arsenal are sat top of the Premier League table, Manchester City and Chelsea are lurking just behind. The Gunners have done tremendously well to get where they are this season and thoroughly deserve to be there, though looking through the squads I can’t help but feel that the two sides directly below possess stronger squads. For me, should the north London side sign the two places I am going to mention below, then they could hang on to top spot and secure that elusive trophy they have been waiting for.

This summer was one of change at Tottenham. The sale of Gareth Bale allowed for Andre Villas-Boas to splash the cash on a host of new players, but after the Portuguese coach watched his side struggle he was the one who got the blame, and he was subsequently sacked. Since then, the blame has shifted on to those who have failed to make an impact since arriving in the summer, and one of those is Etienne Capoue. The Mirror are suggesting that the midfielder could be off, with Napoli supposedly interested, but I think that Spurs are right to want to keep hold.

He finished at Manchester City’s top Premier League scorer last season with 14 goals despite managing just nine full games all term.  He single handedly dragged his nation Bosnia to their first World Cup in their history which will take place in the summer. He has also scored 16 goals this season, six of which have been in the league this time round, though he is probably City’s third choice striker. Edin Dzeko is of course the man I refer to, and I am about to suggest why Jose Mourinho should be picking up the phone and trying to get him down to Chelsea.

According to the Telegraph, Manchester United are ready to plug the gap in their midfield by making a bid for Chelsea’s two-time Player of the Year, Juan Mata. According to the reports, United will break their transfer record with a fee of around £37 million if the deal goes through, but where would the Spain international fit in at Old Trafford?

If there is a need for a flexible, attacking midfielder at Manchester United, this man certainly has the potential to fill it. Remy Cabella has had an outstanding season with Montpellier so far and as a result his name has been bandied about the European stage in regards of a move, and I believe that no club would suit his attributes as much as United.

Manchester City have torn apart almost everything that has stood in front of them this season, especially at home. Manuel Pellegrini’s demand for attacking football, combined with the megastars that are currently on the books at the Etihad Stadium has meant that City fans have been treated with some of the best football in the Premier League this season. However, for me they need a new top rate centre-back to come in and cement the backline with Vincent Kompany.

A lot has been made about Arsenal’s surge up the table this season and the fact that they have held onto top spot for so long, but there have been a few wobbles along the way.  Opening the season with a 3-1 loss at home to Aston Villa, there were plenty of people arguing that their defensive line would be the factor that cost them their title challenge, but with Per Mertesacker performing admirably throughout the campaign so far and Laurent Koscielny tightening up his displays, the Gunners look quite secure.