Why does Olympique Lyon need a solid transfer window in January? 

Olympique Lyon have witnessed their worst start in eight seasons, as the club have managed just six wins from their opening 17 Ligue 1 fixtures. Despite earning a Europa League slot last campaign by finishing fourth in the league, Lyon failed to use that momentum at the start of the campaign.

The club finds itself sitting a lowly thirteenth at the table with just 23 points on the board.

Key departures hampered Lyon's momentum

Lyon witnessed some key departures from the club at the start of the season, with talisman Memphis Depay moving to Barcelona and Maxwell Cornet shifting to Burnley. While the club managed to rope in Xherdan Shaqiri from Liverpool to replace Depay, the transition has not been smooth.

Shaqiri is yet to make his mark in French football.

Apart from that, Lyon also obtained the services of Chelsea full-back Emerson dos Santos to replace Mattia de Sciglio. For Emerson, however, he is yet to find his feet on the French shores.

Lyon lacking finesse in the attacking third

A major shift from last season has been the composition of Lyon's three-man attack.

Last season, Depay led the lines while Kadwere and Toko Ekambi played as supporting strikers. Both supporting players had the physical strength to earn crucial penalties and take down opposition teams with low blocks. Memphis Depay, for one, was a versatile forward who could play both as a target man and as a creative forward as well.

Xherdan Shaqiri lacks both the persona and the physicality of a striker. The deployment of Shaqiri as an advanced striker has not yielded any major dividends for the club. Shaqiri's inability to dictate upfront often restricted Lyon to numerous draws, especially against lower-league sides. Even Lucas Paqueta has not had any major impact so far.

Failing to replace Mattia De Sciglio at the back

Failing to strike a permanent deal for de Sciglio seems to have hit Lyon hard. De Sciglio made close to thirty league appearances for Lyon last season and was instrumental at the back.

Together with Diomande and Marcelo, de Sciglio formed a formidable back-three. It allowed Lyon to involve more men in their attacking play. Ever since his departure, Lyon have moved to a back-four, missing the solidity they had last season.

Statistically, Lyon have already conceded 25 goals from 23 games so far, eight more than what they conceded last season.

The first leg of the campaign is almost coming to a close. Lyon are yet to break into the top 10. For a club that made it to the Champions League semi-finals two years ago, they are a long way from that.

Despite securing Europa League progression, their league form has been indifferent. They need proper replacements in the positions listed above if they have any remaining hopes of making it to Europe. The January transfer window offers them that last hope.