Who should Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico and Valencia sign before Monday?

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez says his club are not going to make any signings between now and the end of January. Less than a month ago he said Rafa Benitez’s job was safe so maybe treat that like a weather forecast or a Standard and Poor’s credit rating.

If Real do hold out until Tuesday without spending they will be in step with most big clubs around Europe. Ever since Chelsea signed Fernando Torres for £50 million in January 2011, clubs have treated the window as something to be avoided.

But in the spirit of fantasy football here are four signings that would happen if most of Spain's big clubs had not forgotten their fantasy league passwords.

The club often complicate their transfer activity by coveting their neighbour’s ass when they have a perfectly good ass in their own backyard. In the past Madrid have looked to the Bundesliga for Toni Kroos and to Serie A for Mateo Kovacic. Now they appear to be looking towards South America for Boca Juniors’ 19-year-old Rodrigo Bentancur - a deal that probably won’t happen because the €12m (£9m) asking price is too much for a teenage talent.

Better to spend big on Krychowiak who renewed with Sevilla last November and has a buy-out clause of €45m. For a team with no holding midfielder or at least not one that Zinedine Zidane believes in, and a transfer ban that will stretch out for the next 18 months if it is not successfully appealed, it would be worth the huge investment.

Gary Neville keeps insisting “there is nothing to see here so move along” and has even called the window a “waste of time”, asking the question: “who is buying? No one is buying!” With the 25-man squad limit Valencia only have one shirt number to play with – ‘13’ is up for grabs - and they desperately need experience and leadership. Casemiro showed both those qualities on loan last season at Porto despite his 23 years.

Real Madrid’s Brazilian midfielder was a favourite under Rafa Benitez but Zidane has no time for him – hence the need for a Krychowiak. Neville could do with the quality and the reliability he brings. Casemiro is a durable midfielder who won’t break as often as Neville’s current options in that department. A loan deal would suit everyone if they can get in ahead of Sevilla... who have just sold Krychowiak to Real Madrid remember.

The former Real Madrid striker started out life as an Atletico Madrid supporter and even played in their youth set-up. He crossed over to the other side and won a European Cup winner’s medal there under Carlo Ancelotti. Now at Juventus he scored twice in the Coppa Italia in midweek and ended a run of 20 games without a goal.

Atletico need striking options, with Jackson Martinez struggling to outscore Fernando Torres – who has two in the league so far this season. They are over-relying on Antoine Griezmann and gambling that Borja Baston's form for Eibar will be kept up when he returns from his loan spell. Aritz Aduriz would be a more short-term solution – was there ever a player more made to play for Diego Simeone? But he is 33 and has a €35m buy-out clause. Morata would cost less and has fewer miles on the clock. It would be a big investment but, like Real, Atletico are not going to be spending money for quite some time if FIFA get their way.

Barca really need a new major sponsor more than a player. How can the most successful club in European football in the last decade be just months from finishing their shirt sponsorship deal with no new contract on the table? If they were to dip into the market however it should be for a defender.

They will use Marc Bartra as transfer market bait next summer, offering him to Valencia for Mustafi or to Everton for John Stones – player plus cash deals of course. Why wait? Bartra’s Barca card is already marked. He is behind Thomas Vermaelen at the moment and no matter how bad the Belgian plays he stays behind him. Get Bartra to Valencia now and bed Mustafi in for next season.