Way-Too-Early Predictions for the 2026 Winter Transfer Window

The 2026 summer transfer window for Europe's top leagues has barely concluded, but we're already hungry for more buying and selling.

Of course, a single window can't solve all of a club's problems at once, or forever, so there's always room to improve and opportunities to exploit.

Ahead, we've identified a few likely moves a handful of top clubs will make when the winter buying period opens up.

In the dying embers of the summer window, Manchester United made an inquiry for Manchester City left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri, according to ESPN .

The late move was an unusual strategy, since it's a serious position of need for the Red Devils. Luke Shaw is the current starter, but the 31-year-old is far below the standard required for a club challenging for a Premier League title and in Europe.

Instead, United used the signing period to focus on a midfield rebuild rather than addressing issues in the backline. Youri Tielemans, Andrey Santos and Carlos Baleba arrived to revamp the engine room, leaving other areas of the squad completely unaddressed.

Ideally, a right-back, a center-back and potentially another striker should be on the shopping list for winter, but the left-back position is the most glaring area in need of an upgrade.

The club could return for Ait-Nouri, but Lewis Hall should be considered a top priority. The Newcastle United player has proved to be dependable in his defensive duties while also offering plenty in the final third.

The soon-to-be 22-year-old could represent the Red Devils at a high level for the best part of the next decade, but he will not come cheap.

Compared to their other Big Six counterparts, Liverpool had a fairly quiet window, putting their focus mainly into the pursuit of Paris Saint-Germain's Bradley Barcola, which eventually proved successful.

However, there are other positions in need of reinforcement, not least at right back.

In a pre-season press conference, Andoni Iraola put his faith in Conor Bradley, who is in recovery from a long-term injury.

"I think it is a situation that is tricky, because we trust Conor in the long term, we know, we want him to be our right back, but right now he is still a little bit far from returning," the Spaniard told reporters.

However, this isn't the Northern Irishman's first stint in the injury room, and his fitness issues could quickly come back to haunt the Reds.

Elsewhere in the position, Jeremie Frimpong has so far not demonstrated the quality he showed at Bayer Leverkusen, and former coach Arne Slot even favored him in a more advanced role. Meanwhile, Joe Gomez is another regular injury worry, and putting Ronald Araujo there would further deplete an already thin center-back corps. Using Dominik Szoboszlai has proved effective, but it deprives the Reds of their best midfielder.

Liverpool should also look into a battling No. 6, who can provide a little extra support to a creaky back line and allow the forward players, not least Florian Wirtz, to focus their efforts on the final third.

But the situation on the right could become more pronounced quickly, especially if injuries continue to be a problem.

Among the most dramatic transfer sagas of the window was Julián Alvarez's attempt to engineer an exit from Atlético Madrid to Barcelona.

The Argentinian made his intentions to move to the Camp Nou very clear, but Atleti released a statement saying that "zero consideration" was being given to let the 26-year-old leave the Spanish capital.

The forward missed training sessions to further try to force the club's hand, even rebuffing supposed interest from Arsenal because he had eyes for only one club. But it all came to naught in the end, and he now has the awkward task of winning over his teammates, his coaches, and the Atleti fans.

It's a relationship that seems difficult to repair, and Alvarez will likely try additional tactics to try to get the move of his dreams in the coming months. Barcelona will be watching it all unfold with interest.

The Blaugrana's financial problems seem to be behind them after a summer of spending, making another approach in the winter likely. They have started the season brightly, though, with new winger Anthony Gordon fitting in comfortably alongside Lamine Yamal and Raphinha in the forward line.

But if a player like Alvarez is available, then every effort should be made to make the move happen. Barcelona will not be deterred by the difficulties they faced in the summer and will surely make another attempt.

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Despite the pretty clear warning signs throughout the window, Chelsea failed to do any succession planning for the likely exit of Enzo Fernandez, with his move to Manchester City finally being completed on deadline day.

The club reportedly made late approaches for Roma's Manu Kone and Monaco's Lamine Camara, but both proved unsuccessful.

Both are fine players, but at present, they feel a step below the caliber of player they lost with the Argentinian's departure. With that in mind, the Blues will be looking to make a big splash in the winter window to effectively replace the World Cup-winning midfielder.

The West Londoners received £125 million ($169 million) for Fernandez, a joint-British-record fee, and that money will be burning a hole in the pockets of a club that has made no secret of its love of spending.

A huge bid should be expected for a new midfield general, perhaps in addition to return attempts to sign Camara and Kone. Crystal Palace's Adam Wharton, Liverpool's Alexis Mac Allister, and Bournemouth's Alex Scott could be among the domestic targets.

Viktor Gyökeres scored 14 Premier League goals as Arsenal clinched the Premier League title last term.

That would suggest the Swede was a major part of the Gunners' drought-ending trophy lift, but he only featured in the starting XI in 26 of a possible 36 games, and he didn't feel like a perfect fit in Mikel Arteta's setup.

Gyökeres has been an unused substitute in Arsenal's first two games of the season. While there's a long campaign ahead across multiple competitions, it feels like he is already surplus to requirements at the Emirates Stadium, despite making a reported $74 million move from Sporting CP just last year.

The 28-year-old was tipped as a potential makeweight in a move for Julian Alvarez, and while it doesn't look like the Argentinian will be rocking up in London any time soon, Gyökeres could still be on that radar as a replacement in Madrid.

Either way, clubs will be sniffing around for a player who still has a lot to offer, even if it didn't quite work out in the English capital.