Bamford will rot on the bench with us next season if we don't loan him out. He needs to play for a premier league club and then we will be able to tell if he's ready or not.
I am really warming to the Falcao idea now, as long as it's just a loan. The last thing we need to do is spend 25m on a flop, but I am confident he can find form with us.
We really need a right winger, Willian just doesn't offer enough of a goal scoring threat and I don't think he's good enough to make that position his own at a club like Chelsea. I know the rumours have been squashed but Griezmann would be a perfect fit. My second preference would be Reus but that's certainly not going to happen.
Who else is there that will considerably improve our side? Sterling is an option but I'm not totally convinced, is he even that much of an upgrade on Willian? Also having an attacking three of Sterling-Willian-Hazard would be dismal. Sterling and Willian can't finish to save themselves and even Hazard is questionable in front of goals at times. We need killer instinct and someone like Griezmann or Reus would provide that which is why we should go all out for one of them, but right now none are looking likely. So who are the other realistic options?
Another issue with our team is our central midfield in big games. Fabregas and Matic just don't cut it against the big boys and they need some support. I think Ramires and Mikel were exposed this season and they could barely impact a game. They're serviceable in the last twenty minutes of games when we need that extra run and defence but in reality they are depth at best. We need another world class box to box midfielder that has goal scoring ability. There's one name that is going to dominate the headlines this transfer period and it's Paul Pogba. I wouldn't be against throwing the kitchen sink to land this guy, even if it meant sacrificing someone like Oscar. A midfield trio of Fabregas, Matic and Pogba would be formidable but what are the chances of us signing him? Very low indeed.
This is where I think Jose has to be smart. If someone like Real Madrid buy Pogba, surely someone of quality would make way. Kroos, Pogba, Isco, James, Modric, Ronaldo and Bale is just overkill, even for Madrid's standards. They've been letting world class players go lately - Ozil, Di Maria and Alonso, so maybe we should target whatever world class player cops the arse once they bring in their shiny new toy. Would they let Modric go?
The same goes for Barcelona. I feel Rakitic is almost a stop gap player for them and despite his fantastic season, and I feel Barcelona could get someone better in midfield. Would he get shafted if Pogba went to the Nou Camp?
Apart from that we're limited. Koke is a one club player, Juventus won't sell Vidal and Pogba, Gundogen is questionable and seems Bayern bound and Verratti is a pipe dream. The tier below these players is probably someone like Schneiderlin who is domestically proven but I don't think he would improve us in Europe.
To be honest, I have no idea how we are going to approach this window and every exciting player that we have been linked to has been since been denied. For the fun of it here is my dream starting squad for next season:
--------------------Courtois
----Ivanovic---Terry---Zouma---Azpillicueta
-------------Matic-----------Fabregas
---------------------Pogba
-----Griezmann---------------Hazard
----------------------Costa
Squad: Remy, Willian, Cuadrado, Falcao, Green, RLC, Cahill, Luis, Ramires, Christensen
Sold/retired: Cech, Oscar, Moses, Salah, Mikel, Drogba, Atsu, van Ginkel
Loaned: Ake, Brown, Baker, Solanke, Blackman, Bamford, Traore (anyone else is not worth noting, edit: probably forgetting heaps)