To Shop or not to Shop

With the Winter transfer window quickly approaching, there are the obvious speculations about the trailer loads of players Benfica is interested in acquiring.
Quique has already manifested that the winter transfer market is not something that he likes to dabble in, as the players that are available are players, for the most part, incapable of hitting the ground running. The team finished the year in first, but has yet to finish the first half of the league.

With 3 games yet to go in the first half of the league(Trofense, Braga and Belenenses), Benfica will need to put together a solid run, as we all know what the first 5 games of the second half bring - porto, Sporting and Leixoes among others.

Which brings me to the January transfer window, I'm not too big of fan of too many changes in the winter market, however, i do believe that benfica should strengthen the squad, if they are to keep ahead of the competition.

I think that both sides of the defense are vulnerable at this point. On the left, Ribeiro is currently the only natural left back on our team. Leo is currently in Brazil and talks about his exit are more and more frequent in the Portuguese media outlets these days. It's true that David Luiz can do the position, but if Leo does in fact leave, i believe this would be a position to strengthen. On the other side, Maxi is currently the player with the most minutes played for Benfica this season, and the only true right back, regardles of having been adapted to the position. He brings a certain consistency to the position, despite some of his attacking deficiencies. There was much talk about bringing in another right back, after Nelson's exit in the beginning of the season, but i think both Rui Costa and Quique are happy with the alternatives, Amorim and Miguel Vitor, although i wouldn't count out the attractiveness of a more attacking right back, especially when the right side of Benfica's game has clearly been the weakest.

In the midfield, I see a "box to box" missing. Aimar is far from being able to give the team his full contribute, and Quique persists on using him behind the forward. Martins started the season strong, but has dwindled into a secondary role, much because of injuries. Katsouranis is too slow for that role and his strengths lie more on the defensive aspect of the game, as he lacks explosiveness to go forward.
Yebda, who was an unquestionable starter for most of the campaign up until the past games, seems to have gone down in form, and although he can be a "box to box", currently he is very far from it.

I think the front line is stacked. Many will argue for a right winger, but in my opinion, Benfica does not need a right winger. With DiMaria coming into full health, he will most likely interchange with Reyes on the wings.

To summarize, 1 to 2 players, is all that Benfica would need this January, with the second one relying heavily on Leo's probable exit.
I don't expect many moves by Benfica, but i don't believe the team will sit idly by.