Positions the top 5 Premier League teams should strengthen in January 2019

#2 Liverpool (Playmaker)

Klopp might be searching for a creative midfielder in January

At the beginning of the season, Liverpool was mooted as the most likely challengers to Manchester City. So far, it has turned out exactly as predicted.

The addition of Virgil Van Dijk in January and Alisson Becker in the summer came at great cost. However, these two men have given the defence a solidity it has not had since the Rafa Benitez era.

It has been a case of pendulum swings. While the defence has improved, the attack has looked laboured at times. The Fab Three; Sadio Mane, Mo Salah and Roberto Firmino have not been as devastating as they were last season.

The team has been winning by the odd goal most times. While the midfield has continued to look energetic and active, the lack of creativity from the middle is hurting the team.

Naby Keita and Xherdan Shaqiri have done their bit on the occasions that they have been given the playmaking role. However, they have not shown that they have the guile and nous to be effective consistently. Teams have sat back and denied the forwards and fullbacks space to run into, disrupting Klopp's gegenpress style.

The German manager had wanted Lyon's Nabil Fekir to play in the hole but due to unforeseen injuries, the deal fell through. A return for the Lyon captain may happen again in January. Another likely option would be Bayer Leverkusen's exciting young German, Kai Havertz who is already drawing comparisons to Mesut Özil.