The players from the Premier League's top 6 sides who could improve their rivals

The 2017-18 Premier League season has just concluded. Manchester City won the title with ease, while Chelsea and Arsenal flattered to deceive. The red half of Manchester failed to win any silverware, while Tottenham bottled it in multiple competitions yet again. Liverpool's season will come down to the Champions League final. A win would make their season one that will go down in history. But a loss would mean yet another season with false hope and no actual trophies.

So what's next for all these teams? On one hand, the players will be looking forward to the World Cup, a platform to showcase their talent to the world. On the other hand, the owners and managers of each club will be deciding on what players to buy or sell for the next season. There are players, both in England and abroad, who could really take each team to another level.

This feature looks at the players in the Premier League's top 6 who could improve their rivals. In general, these are unrealistic transfers which aren't expected to happen. But the transfer window is a crazy period in which anything can happen. Club heroes can turn into "snakes" in a few hours. Therefore, it is impossible to count out such transfers.

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#6 Arsenal (David De Gea from Manchester United)

Arsenal have been the poorest of the top six teams this season. The highlight of their season is the resignation of long-serving manager Arsene Wenger. Their backline has conceded 51 goals this season, which is more than the number of goals newly-promoted Newcastle have conceded. One of the players who deserves a lot of blame is the goalkeeper, Petr Cech.

Despite his 19 years of experience, Cech's performances have seen a steady decline. He has made six errors leading to goals this season, which is the most any player has made this season. It seems as though age is catching up with the Chelsea legend. While he has shown flashes of brilliance, the Gunners will want a more consistent performer as they build a new dynasty.

To replace him, they will want a goalkeeper who can perform consistently and is a leader at the back. At the moment, David De Gea is the best goalkeeper in the Premier League. The Golden Glove winner has been phenomenal between the sticks this season. De Gea's 3.88 saves per goal, compared to Cech's 1.62, is evidence of the difference in their abilities.

De Gea has made a whopping 113 saves this season. His 14-save performance against Arsenal is one of many occasions on which he has impressed watchers with his cat-like reflexes. His leadership qualities are brought out by the fact that many fans want to see him as the Manchester United captain next season. While the possibility of this transfer is next to zero, the Spaniard is the player the Gunners need!

#5 Chelsea (Kyle Walker from Manchester City)

Walker's pace and skill could be the solution to Chelsea's wing-back problem

Chelsea's title defense this season has been very disappointing. They have multiple weaknesses in their squad that require strengthening. One of their biggest weaknesses is on the right side of their defense. The Blues have conceded many goals owing to mistakes by their right-sided players, and haven't had much joy running down that flank either.

Victor Moses has been the culprit of many goals conceded this season. One of his most costly errors was at home to Spurs, when he gave the ball away on the stroke of halftime. While attacking, he has been caught wasting too much time on the ball, thereby slowing down many of Chelsea's counter-attacks.

Manchester City's Kyle Walker has been a phenomenon under Pep Guardiola. He can play in multiple positions. He makes the best use of his pace, both while attacking and while defending. He has made 73 passes per game as compared to Moses's 29. He also has six assists to his name, which is one less than the combined number of assists provided by all of Chelsea's wing-backs!

Walker has a greater successful take-on percentage than each one of Chelsea's wing-backs. He has been part of the PFA Team of the Season for two years running, under two different managers. Walker is a proven Premier League star, so if he somehow does end up at Chelsea, the Blues will be assured that he won't be another waste of money!

#4 Liverpool (Jan Vertonghen from Tottenham)

Vertonghen could be the cool and confident partner Van Dijk needs

Jurgen Klopp has built a strong side during his reign at Liverpool. His high-intensity style of play, coupled with his astute signings, has taken Liverpool to the cusp of European glory. While they have improved in attack with signings like Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, their defense is still an issue that needs addressing. The signing of Virgil Van Dijk has solved half the problem.

The other half of the problem yet lingers and has been taken advantage of several times. Dejan Lovren and Ragnar Klavan have been very prone to mistakes this season, while Joel Matip has struggled to stay fit. Since his team plays at a high tempo, Klopp will want someone who can play quick passes while being stable on the ball.

Tottenham's Jan Vertonghen has been a revelation this season. In the absence of usual partner Toby Alderweireld, Vertonghen has stepped up this season. He has made 60 interceptions compared to Lovren's 42. He hasn't made a single defensive error this season, making him a reliable player at the back. Like a fine wine, he keeps getting better with age.

Vertonghen is also a great passer of the ball. He has made 2090 successful passes this season, at a rate of 58.06 per game. This is just one pass per game less than Kevin De Bruyne! A versatile defender, Vertonghen has played at center back as well as left-back. The Belgian defender's various traits make him the player Klopp and Liverpool are in dire need of!

#3 Tottenham (Aaron Ramsey from Arsenal)

With his energy and knack of scoring important goals, Ramsey can change the game in a flash

Tottenham have one of the best young squads in the world, let alone the Premier League. However, their attack is the only source of goals. If one of their forwards hits a rough patch or gets injured, the whole team begins to struggle. Dele Alli's struggles and Harry Kane's injury meant that Tottenham could not push for the title like they did last year. Therefore, it can be concluded that they need another source of goals.

Mousa Dembele has established himself as one of the best box-to-box midfielders in the world, while Eric Dier has been a workhorse on the defensive end. Both players, however, have struggled to score goals this season. The available replacements. Moussa Sissoko and Victor Wanyama, haven't covered themselves in glory.

One player who has been a much-needed source of goals for his current club is Arsenal's Aaron Ramsey. He has scored many vital goals from his central midfield position, including an FA Cup winner and a hat-trick against Everton. This season, the Welshman has scored seven in the league. On the contrary, both Dembele and Dier haven't scored a single league goal this season.

Ramsey has created 28 chances for his teammates. This is only five less than Dier and Dembele combined! Along with his offensive input, he can also make crunch tackles to disturb the flow of other teams. He has won more tackles than the likes of Dembele and Manchester United's Pogba. With Ramsey in their side, Tottenham could finally break the shackles and start winning trophies!

#2 Manchester United (Roberto Firmino from Liverpool)

Firmino's energy and Brazilian flair would be a much-needed boost

Despite coming second, Manchester United have been criticized many times this season. Their inability to create chances has come under a lot of scrutiny this season. Among the top six, they have scored the second least number of league goals this season. Embarrassing defeats to Sevilla and Bristol City in the cup competitions have underlined their lack of cutting edge in front of goal this season.

Lukaku has been slated by many fans for not showing up in the big games. He has only scored a solitary goal against the other top six sides. Sanchez failed to hit the ground running, scoring at a rate of 0.17 goals per game. The other forwards, namely Martial, Rashford, Mata and Lingard, have not been as impressive as expected. Finally, Pogba's talent has been stifled by Mourinho's tactics.

Looking at all these issues, it can be said that Manchester United need a versatile forward who can create and convert chances. One such player is Liverpool's Roberto Firmino. He has the ability to play through the middle and on the wings. Salah has hogged the spotlight, but Firmino has been the unsung hero for Liverpool, having scored 26 and assisted 14.

Firmino has a 69% success rate when it comes to taking on opponents. This is better than Lingard, Rashford, Martial and even Lukaku. One of Firmino's main qualities is his work rate off the ball, something which helps even when he is struggling on the ball. His appetite for goals, combined with a natural Brazilian flair and the willingness to chase the ball, make him the ideal player to revive Manchester United!

#1 Manchester City (N'golo Kante from Chelsea)

Kante's energy would free up the players in front of him to run wild

Breaking record after record, Pep Guardiola's Manchester City have been unstoppable this season. They seem like a perfectly drilled unit. But there are some factors which cannot be avoided. One such factor is age. The position where this is evident is defensive midfield. The only true defensive midfielder they have is 33-year-old Fernandinho.

Unlike other players on this list who need replacements, Fernandinho has been brilliant for the Citizens throughout the season. But at his age, he is gradually losing his pace and flair. This weakness was exploited by Liverpool's Salah and Oxlade-Chamberlain. Pep's system ideally requires an energetic player at the prime of his career to occupy that defensive midfield role.

One of the younger defensive midfielders who has been able to deliver performances at the same level as Fernandinho is N'golo Kante of Chelsea. On many occasions this season, Kante has carried his team over the line with his defensive resilience. He has won more than twice as many tackles as Fernandinho this season.

A poor season overall might have hidden the fact that Kante was still at his energetic best this season. The little Frenchman has improved to a great extent when it comes to his on-the-ball play, with 47 successful dribbles compared to Fernandinho's 21. Throughout his stay in England, Kante has dutifully done the work of more than one man. And if Pep were to sign him, Manchester City could reach unthinkable heights!