On the first Tuesday of every month during the 2024-25 season, we’ll debate which clubs are among Europe’s elite in our Soccer Power Rankings. In our December edition, we’re picking out one summer signing that must step up his game for each team on our list.
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1. Liverpool 🏴
Previous rank: 2 📈
Considering Liverpool’s sensational start to life under Arne Slot, this is little more than a nitpick. It obviously hasn’t hindered them in any way, but Federico Chiesa has been virtually nonexistent since joining the club from Juventus in the summer. The Italian, struggling to achieve full fitness, has made just three appearances in all competitions, playing a grand total of 78 minutes. Imagine if they actually get anything out of him this season.
2. Atalanta 🇮🇹
Previous rank: 7 📈
Atalanta are flying right now, with Mateo Retegui, Charles De Ketelaere, and Ademola Lookman all in scintillating form for a side that’s scored 26 times during an eight-game winning streak. Nicolo Zaniolo is the only player yet to flourish under Gian Piero Gasperini. The Italian, on loan from Galatasaray, has more yellow cards than goals this season. At some point, Atalanta’s scoring spree will slow down. Having Zaniolo at his best will help in those moments.
3. Inter Milan 🇮🇹
Previous rank: 11 📈
Captain Lautaro Martinez and strike partner Marcus Thuram continue to carry the attacking load, combining for nearly half of Inter’s goals in Serie A this season. With the Nerazzurri competing on several fronts, Mehdi Taremi, who’s still goalless in league play, will need to step up and offer a credible secondary scoring threat who can give Simone Inzaghi’s first-choice pair a break as the fixture list keeps piling up.
4. Bayern Munich 🇩🇪
Previous rank: 5 📈
Having finally landed the defensive midfield specialist they long coveted, Bayern Munich probably expected a little more out of Joao Palhinha. The ball-winning machine saw limited playing time early in the season before getting injured, raising questions about his suitability for Vincent Kompany’s system. Nearing a return from an adductor tear, the Portuguese international will be looking to supplant a resurgent Leon Goretzka in the starting lineup.
5. Arsenal 🏴
Previous rank: 9 📈
Raheem Sterling has been a non-factor this season, but his loan deal was a low-risk, last-minute summer signing. Mikel Merino, on the other hand, cost nearly €40 million and has yet to look comfortable in north London, starting just four Premier League matches since moving from Real Sociedad. Injuries have delayed his acclimation. Getting more out of the Spanish midfielder in the second half of the season would be a big boost to Arsenal’s title push.
6. Chelsea 🏴
Previous rank: 16 📈
Chelsea are making excellent progress under Enzo Maresca. Despite the justified criticism of the club’s scattergun transfer policy, the ceiling for this team is very high after multiple windows spent doling out huge sums of cash. But one area that could yet derail the Blues’ ascent is between the sticks, where Robert Sanchez remains an unconvincing No. 1. Filip Jorgensen can wrest that job away and provide Chelsea with a better backbone in goal.
7. Barcelona 🇪🇸
Previous rank: 1 📉
Dani Olmo has looked great when he’s been on the pitch – five La Liga goals in just seven appearances – but that’s just it: He’s not been available consistently enough to justify Barcelona’s €60-million outlay. Fitness issues have been the one real knock on the Spaniard throughout his career. He gives Barca a unique set of versatility and creativity and needs to stay healthy for a team dealing with its first bit of adversity under Hansi Flick.
8. Napoli 🇮🇹
Previous rank: 8 ⚖️
Napoli, unlike so many other teams on this list, aren’t burdened by sapping midweek European fixtures. Antonio Conte doesn’t have to worry about squad rotation nearly as much as his peers. That’s helped Matteo Politano retain his starting place on the right wing despite limited production this season. David Neres, often a late-game substitute in that position, has a chance to make the starting spot his own if he can fully win Conte’s trust.
9. Real Madrid 🇪🇸
Previous rank: 3 📉
Who else? Kylian Mbappe hasn’t exactly hit the ground running in the Spanish capital. His raw numbers aren’t that bad – eight league goals in 13 games – but he’s been an awkward fit on the pitch while Carlo Ancelotti tinkers and figures out how to make the best use of his skills. Mbappe was always going to be judged more harshly than any other summer signing. He’s set the bar sky-high, and he hasn’t come close to reaching it yet in Madrid.
10. Atletico Madrid 🇪🇸
Previous rank: 17 📈
Atletico are still unsure when Robin Le Normand will be available to return from the traumatic head injury he suffered in September. The club won’t take any chances with the defender, who only recently resumed light training while wearing protective headgear. In his continued absence, Clement Lenglet has stepped in. He was signed on loan from Barcelona to provide defensive depth but has suddenly been thrust into a key role for Diego Simeone.
11. Manchester City 🏴
Previous rank: 4 📉
Manchester City need better play from virtually everyone right now to get out of their stunning tailspin. Savinho, who looked so promising early in the season, has hit a wall of late, just like so many of his struggling teammates. The Brazilian, without a goal on the campaign, hasn’t recorded a league assist since September. That’s simply not good enough for a winger tasked with being one of the key creative forces and suppliers for Erling Haaland.
12. Paris Saint-Germain 🇫🇷
Previous rank: 6 📉
Desire Doue was a signing for the future, but Paris Saint-Germain need him right now. Luis Enrique’s men are cruising in Ligue 1, as usual, but they’ve been pitiful in the Champions League, sitting 25th after five matches. Filling the void left by the game’s best forward is a huge undertaking, and it can’t be done by one player alone. Doue, 19, can help soften the blow of Mbappe’s absence by showing why PSG splashed €50 million to sign him from Rennes.
13. Fiorentina 🇮🇹
Previous rank: 10 📉
Red-hot striker Moise Kean has been one of the best signings in Italy this season. His resurgence after a goalless 2023-24 has been vital to lifting Fiorentina near the top of the Serie A table. Fellow summer arrival Albert Gudmundsson hasn’t been able to have the same impact yet, though. The Icelandic playmaker was coveted by some of Europe’s top clubs before landing in Florence and has the talent to help Fiorentina climb even higher.
14. Sporting CP 🇵🇹
Previous rank: 12 📉
With Ruben Amorim getting poached by Manchester United, all eyes are now on prolific star Viktor Gyokeres. It’s only a matter of when, not if, he leaves for an enormous fee. Sporting, one of the shrewdest operators in the transfer market, preplanned for that by spending more than €20 million on Danish teenager Conrad Harder in September. The young striker could be tasked with leading the line as early as January if Gyokeres departs this winter.
15. Eintracht Frankfurt 🇩🇪
Previous rank: 15 ⚖️
Frankfurt, who won all six of their games in November, nailed several of their summer signings. Robin Koch has played more minutes than anybody on the team, Arthur Theate and Rasmus Kristensen are defensive pillars, and Hugo Ekitike has nine goal involvements in 11 league games. The only new face not fully settled is Mahmoud Dahoud. The midfielder, aiming to get his career back on track after a tough 2023-24, has just one Bundesliga start so far.
16. Bayer Leverkusen 🇩🇪
Previous rank: 18 📈
Leverkusen’s greatest accomplishment in the summer window was keeping hold of all the key contributors from their undefeated title-winning season. They didn’t rest on their laurels, though, and committed more deeply to Xabi Alonso’s possession-based style by recruiting deep-lying midfield quarterback Aleix Garcia from Girona. The diminutive Spaniard is starting to show in recent games why he was viewed as a perfect fit for Alonso’s squad.
17. AC Milan 🇮🇹
Previous rank: N/A 📈
A bevy of credible attacking options means Alvaro Morata’s modest scoring output isn’t Paulo Fonseca’s biggest worry. Inconsistency in defense has been more baffling – Milan are capable of shutting down Real Madrid one day and conceding three goals to Cagliari the next. Fonseca’s used four different center-back pairings in the past five outings in search of a solution. Strahinja Pavlovic can lock down one of those spots by simply refining his game.
18. Juventus 🇮🇹
Previous rank: 14 📉
Teun Koopmeiners. Juventus made the Dutchman the centerpiece of their summer rebuild, signing him for nearly €60 million. They expected he’d provide goals from midfield, something the club has long lacked. It hasn’t worked out yet, with Koopmeiners still seeking his first tally for the Bianconeri. Ravaged by injuries of late, Thiago Motta’s Juve desperately needs him to recapture last season’s form and uplift a squad struggling badly to score.
19. Lille 🇫🇷
Previous rank: 20 📈
Tiago Santos’ impressive play last year was one of the reasons why Lille reached the Champions League. But an early-season ACL tear ruled the Portuguese right-back out for the remainder of this campaign, leaving Aissa Mandi to patrol that position. A natural center-back, the veteran Algerian international has slotted in well on the right side, and his defense-first mindset allows winger Edon Zhegrova to play with more freedom in front of him.
20. Borussia Dortmund 🇩🇪
Previous rank: N/A 📈
Borussia Dortmund games might look like track meets over the next month. Among teams in the top half of the Bundesliga, only Stuttgart have conceded more goals than Dortmund this season. With key defender Waldemar Anton likely out until January due to injury, BVB might have to simply outscore their defensive issues for a bit. Getting more out of Maximilian Beier, who has just two goals this season, would go a long way toward making that possible.
Dropped out: RB Leipzig, Nottingham Forest
On the cusp: Benfica, PSV Eindhoven, AS Monaco, Galatasaray