Before our trip to the Etihad, the title of this article was supposed to read ‘What we need in January to stop the rot.’ But then a certain Mr. Townsend goes and scores the best goal of his career while his teammates put in a shift to end all shifts and suddenly, all is rosy in south London. 

Forget Roy’s seeming inability to make substitutions; we just beat the champions and boy did we deserve it!

Matthew Lewis/Getty Images Sport

Regardless of what happened before or after the trip to the Etihad, for 90 minutes the team showed us exactly what they are capable of. Forget the fact that they had 78% possession or that they managed 19 shots to our 5. We stifled one of the most fluid attacking forces in Europe and took our chances when they came. If we can do this against Guardiola’s boys, we can surely do it against the likes of Huddersfield, West Ham, and Spurs.

While survival in the league is every fan’s Christmas wish, on that performance we should set our sights higher. With just a few additions to the squad, the chances of our survival and finishing higher than mid-table would improve tenfold in what is turning out to be an incredibly competitive season. You see, we’re realists, and while the squad is certainly capable, a couple of new faces in January could make all the difference. So who should we be looking at?

Up front

It looks increasingly likely that Dominic Solanke will head up north to Glasgow to join the Gerrard-led Ibrox revival. But it’s hard to imagine that the player would turn down a move to London and a chance to prove himself in The Premiership. All respect to Rangers, but the Scottish League is a considerable step down for a player with England ambitions.

Aitor Alcalde/Getty Images Sport

Solanke’s teammate Divock Origi is another possibility, and with the Belgian keen to get some more minutes on the pitch, it’s a deal that would suit all parties, Liverpool included. We’d be happy enough to see either of those happen, but we’ve mixed feelings on the possibility of Jermain Defoe rocking up to Selhurst. There’s no doubt that Defoe is a talented player, but he’s 36 and not playing very well. It’s a distinct possibility though.

Midfield

There’s one name on everyone’s lips; Yaya Toure. Again, we’re not quite sure how we feel about this one. On the one hand, he brings incredible experience to the side, but he’s obviously on the decline. A better shout (and you might laugh at us for this) would be Adam Lallana. We know, we know, but hear us out. He’s fresh back from injury and is highly unlikely to play a starring role at Anfield, and a loan move might just suit him.

Lynne Cameron/Getty Images Sport

Realistically though, we’d be better pushing for loan moves for younger players such as Kieran Dowell from Everton and Callum Hudson-Odoi from Chelsea. Both are exciting young attacking midfielders that would jump at the opportunity for the chance to shine in the premiership because it’s probably not going to happen for them at their current clubs.

At the back

Victor Moses; the return of the prodigal son has been talked about as a certainty for some time now, and it’s a move that would make perfect sense for both player and club. With Moses not part of Sarri’s plans at Stamford Bridge, the player needs a move, and he is supposedly open to a return to his former club. This would give us a player who is versatile enough to play wide forward on either side or fill in at full-back. He has bags of experience, and it would be a permanent deal that would see us sign a talented player still in his prime.

Mike Hewitt/Getty Images Sport

Another Chelsea player in need of a permanent move is Gary Cahill. At 33, he’s no spring chicken, but there’s no doubting his ability and his experience would certainly help our defence. Cahill might feel that he still has a chance to play for a Champions League club, but he’ll want to stay in London. Spurs and Arsenal are unlikely to go in for him so he may just have to accept that at his age, a move to a top-six club isn’t going to happen.

As we saw in Manchester, this team is capable of wonderful things, but they need help. The experience of Cahill and Moses would improve the side a great deal and add to that the attacking threat of one of Liverpool’s two unwanted strikers, and we’d have a side to be reckoned with. Make some astute signings this coming month, and we can forget about survival and maybe even dream of the Europe League. Anything’s possible, right?