3 players Real Madrid must look to sign in the January transfer window

Go back to the beginning of the season and there where talks of crisis. Currently, at the halfway mark of the season, the general mood around Santiago Bernabéu is of satisfaction. Real Madrid may not be the dominant force they used to be, yet they've been grinding out results and currently shares the spoils at the top of the table with FC Barcelona. While they kept things very tight at the back, their attack simply isn’t up to scratch for a title contender.

With the kind of firepower they already have at their disposal, the Los Blancos needs a touch up rather than a full makeover. If you are going to pick holes then perhaps one creative midfielder is the need of the hour. It's only a year since Luka Modric was pictured holding a Ballon d'Or but added nothing of note since. Despite being around for a while, Isco is still not an automatic pick at Real Madrid. The ever-dependable Toni Kroos and Casemiro still continue to impress yet neither of them boast too much of attacking prowess. Youth star Federico Valverde had a dream debut season, but he seldom operates on the creative side.

Real Madrid's summer recruitments have failed to hit the ground running, hence Florentino Perez would want to be more cautious with their signings this time around. They see this season as the perfect opportunity for redemption both on the European and domestic front, and they could do with some good recruitment.

In this article, we focus on 3 names that Real Madrid should consider signing in order to help them reclaim the lustre it squandered in the previous seasons.

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#3 Donny van de Beek (Ajax)

Don van der Beek is immensely talented

There was some surprise when Eric Ten Hag's Ajax exceeded all expectations to make it to the semis of last season's Champions League. A great deal of that was down to the performances of a host of young starlets, including a 22-year-old Donny van de Beek, who, if not for the immense popularity of names like Frenkie de Jong, Matthijs de Ligt, and Hakim Ziyech, would have been a good shout for their player of the year.

A product of Ajax's renowned youth system, van de Beek proved an instant hit after his incorporation to their first-team squad. He plays around like a proper number 10 while possessing a number 8's dimension to his game, such is his versatility. This season, he already has a 13-goal involvement from 20 games, numbers worth noting for Real Madrid scouts, who are in search of an heir to Luka Modric's throne. Ajax would have no intention of letting him go unless a mouth-watering offer is put on the table. Even if a big sum is involved, it could prove to be a smart, long-term acquisition for the Los Blancos to make.

The ambitious Dutchman cannot really spend his prime years battling it out in a minnow league and may want to follow the footsteps of his former teammates de Jong and de Ligt to one of Europe's elites. And if at all Ajax decides to cut ties with van de Beek this winter, it's highly likely he would end up at Santiago Bernabéu.

#2 Paul Pogba (Manchester United)

It's time for Paul Pogba to show what he is capable of

For the umpteenth time, we are hearing Paul Pogba being linked to Real Madrid, and this time around the deal looks like happening. Pogba definitely has the talent to be considered world-class but the World Cup winner never fully delivered to his potentials at Old Trafford. While he has shown his quality in patches, he lacked consistency and has failed to make the kind of impact that would justify his transfer fee.

If this transfer materialises, he could add that much needed attacking flair and dynamism to an inert Los Blancos mid-field. A box-to-box role in a midfield 3 would be the ideal fit for the tall physical French man, who possess a good combination of strength, vision, work rate, and dribbling. Real Madrid would provide the former golden boy winner with a great opportunity to realise his dream of becoming one of the world's best.

Manchester United have been oddly dull to watch in recent years, and Pogba has come in for the harshest criticism for their poor run. With some sections of Manchester United fans arguing that his below-par showings are down to a lack of application and dream of his next move, it is no wonder the English club would want to cash in on him. A recent ankle injury may have needed a surgery for him, but don't think that it would stand in the way of a potential transfer that Manchester United and Real Madrid could agree on.

#1 Christian Eriksen (Tottenham Hotspur)

Christian Eriksen is looking for a way out of Spurs

On first glance, there could not be more like to like replacement for Luka Modric than Tottenham Hotspur's Christian Eriksen. While both of them possess very similar playing style, Eriksen will also be choosing a Modric-esque path to Madrid by ditching the lilly white of Tottenham to donn the classic white of Real Madrid, if at all the transfer materialises.

In a little over five year's time, Mauricio Pochettino took a mediocre Tottenham side to a formidable force in England and of course, Eriksen served as a guiding light for their way out of the wilderness. Only a few players in the world can rival the Dane's intuition, his mastery of space, his proficiency to find a striker in space and knowledge of how to control the tempo of the game. Only David Silva and Eden Hazard have created more chances than the Spurs man in the last decade, a testament to his attacking talent. While all these help explains Zidane’s interest in Eriksen, the player himself has been crying out for a move to a top-level club, for broadening his horizons.

The current campaign has been a frustrating one for Spurs and Eriksen at the same time. Jose Mourinho, who recently took over the reins at the North London club, took a courageous decision to bench Eriksen, suggesting he might be better off looking for a new club if he can't come up with a clarification on his contract situation. Now that he has entered the last six months of his contract, the astute businessman in Daniel Levy would undoubtedly be keen to offload the Dane now rather than losing him out on a free transfer next summer. And for Los Blancos, the ability to snap up a player of Eriksen's calibre on a cheap deal, is well, priceless. A host of clubs including Inter Milan have been alerted on Eriksen's situation, hence Real Madrid may need to act quickly if they are to secure his services.