Free agents: The five best unattached players available in each position | OneFootball

The summer transfer window has closed but Premier League clubs could still be on the lookout for free agents that could fill gaps in their squad on the cheap.

Free agents can sign for a new team at any time and will be the centre of attention now for any needy clubs where the transfer window has closed.

Here, TEAMtalk provides a summary of some notable free agents available this summer. We’ve chosen five per position, but would you want to sign any of them for your club?

Free agent goalkeepers

Fraser Forster

Forster is near the end of his career now, so it remains to be seen if retirement is on the horizon or he could take up a backup role at another club, like he was occupying for Spurs.

The former Celtic and Southampton keeper fell to third in their hierarchy by the end of last season, making it a simple decision to let him go – but he still had 13 appearances to his name in 2024-25.

Vicente Guaita

Guaita spent five seasons in the Premier League with Crystal Palace, before leaving in 2023 and joining Celta de Vigo.

His two-year spell back in his native Spain came to an end at the conclusion of last season. Despite his age, he still played 34 times for them in the 2024-25 LaLiga campaign.

Alessio Cragno

Cragno was capped twice by Italy earlier in his career, most recently in 2022, but had to drop into Serie B to turn out for Sampdoria last season and is currently nursing an Achilles injury.

Rui Patricio

The former Wolves goalkeeper spent last season with Atalanta after being released by Roma, but only made three appearances in Serie A. He then signed a short-term deal to represent Al Ain at the Club World Cup, but is now looking for a new club.

Tom Glover

Former Tottenham youth product Glover returned to English football with Middlesbrough for the past two seasons, making 29 appearances across them. He previously played in his native Australia for Melbourne City.

Free agent right-backs

Takehiro Tomiyasu

Arsenal terminated Tomiyasu’s contract a year ahead of schedule because of his long-term injury issues. The versatile defender is only expected to return to fitness towards the end of the calendar year.

Rick Karsdorp

Karsdorp’s second return to Dutch football, after a turbulent spell in Italy with Roma, only lasted a year, with PSV giving him just 20 appearances last season. He encountered problematic knee issues along the way.

Mattia De Sciglio

Getting to the age of 33 and only ever being owned by AC Milan and Juventus makes for a respectable CV. But De Sciglio fell out of favour with the latter and spent last season on loan with Empoli, a few years after his only other loan spell with Lyon.

Javier Manquillo

Former Liverpool, Sunderland and Newcastle United full-back Manquillo spent last season in LaLiga with Celta Vigo, but was only there for a year. He made 23 appearances during that time.

Leo Dubois

Dubois earned 13 caps for France between 2019 and 2021, helping them win the 2020-21 UEFA Nations League.

That was in the midst of his spell with Lyon at club level. Following his time there, he has played in Turkey with Galatasaray, Istanbul Basaksehir and Eyupspor.

Free agent centre-backs

Daniel Amartey

Ex-Leicester man Daniel Amartey, who can also play in midfield, only spent the 2023-24 season at Besiktas before being released and has been inactive since.

Craig Dawson

Dawson’s last appearance for Wolves was in December 2024 before a second half of the season in which he didn’t play. However, the former West Ham centre-half has plenty of experience throughout levels of the English game.

Kortney Hause

Injuries have been to blame for Hause’s fade from the radar in recent years and he was freed up by Aston Villa at the end of his contract in June 2025.

Pawel Dawidowicz

Dawidowicz is fresh from a seven-year spell with Hellas Verona, the last six of which were in Serie A. He enjoyed his busiest year of international duty with Poland in 2024, earning nine caps after previously last playing for his country in 2021.

Jason Denayer

Former Manchester City, Sunderland and Celtic defender Denayer hasn’t played in Europe since 2022 when he left Lyon. At the end of January, he terminated his contract with Al Fateh in the Saudi Pro League.

Free agent left-backs

Renan Lodi

Lodi terminated his contract with Al Hilal in September after being left out of their Saudi Pro League squad.

“In the past weeks, I tried to reach a friendly solution with Hilal but I received no response,” said the former Nottingham Forest loanee, whose other clubs back in Europe were Atletico Madrid and Marseille. “My lawyer told me I cannot be deprived of practicing my profession.”

Lodi has returned to his native Brazil but is waiting to sign for a new club.

Sergio Reguilon

Reguilon has been unwanted by Spurs for a while, but has had loan spells with Atletico Madrid, Manchester United and Brentford. Fabrizio Romano reported at the end of May that several clubs were making contact, but it remains to be seen which ones.

Juan Bernat

Bernat had a brief spell with Getafe at the end of last season after Villarreal decided to move him on quickly after his loan from Paris Saint-Germain.

The former Bayern Munich full-back previously earned 11 caps for Spain over a five-year period.

Diego Laxalt

Although predominantly a wing-back throughout his career, Laxalt was playing in midfield as well for Dynamo Moscow. The former Celtic loanee was released in the summer after four years in Russia.

Jordan Amavi

Formerly of Aston Villa – with whom he spent one season in the Premier League and one in the Championship – Amavi was released by Brest after making 13 appearances last season.

Free agent midfielders

Miralem Pjanic

Pjanic’s career has followed an unexpected path since a 2020 move to Barcelona. Since then, he’s played in Turkey, the UAE and Russia.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

Former Arsenal and Liverpool midfielder Oxlade-Chamberlain was released by Besiktas in August after 50 appearances across two seasons.

Dele Alli

Dele was hoping his new challenge with Como in Serie A could revitalise his career, but he only made one appearance for Cesc Fabregas’ side and got sent off within less than 10 minutes.

The former Tottenham Hotspur prospect saw his deal terminated in August.

Oriol Romeu

Ex-Southampton stalwart Romeu earned a return to Barcelona in 2023 on the back of an impressive season with Girona, but he spent last season back on loan with his former side before his contract was terminated. The defensive midfielder boasts experience in Germany as well as his busier spells in Spain and England.

Tiemoue Bakayoko

The former Chelsea flop spent last season with PAOK in the Greek Super League and is still only in his early thirties. Although he has struggled to convince at the elite level, he could be useful for a club with mid-sized ambitions.

Free agent wingers

Nathan Redmond

Redmond was only a bit-part player for Burnley on their route to earning promotion to the Premier League. There have been whispers about a return to Birmingham City.

Lorenzo Insigne

Former Napoli ace Insigne has been playing in MLS since July 2022, but Toronto FC recently terminated his contract after 19 goals in 76 appearances for them.

His compatriot Federico Bernardeschi has returned to Italian football since his Toronto deal was ripped up and Insigne will be aiming for the same, with some reports claiming he still thinks he has a chance of making Italy’s 2026 World Cup squad.

Alireza Jahanbakhsh

Former Brighton forward Jahanbakhsh has been playing in the Eredivisie for the past four seasons, the most recent of which was his only one with Heerenveen.

Malcolm Ebiowei

After spells in the academies of Chelsea, Arsenal and Rangers, Ebiowei earned a Premier League move to Crystal Palace from Derby County in 2022.

But he only ever played five times for Palace and signed a two-year deal with Blackpool in the summer, only to leave by mutual consent in September.

Jayden Braaf

Braaf left Manchester City for Borussia Dortmund in 2022, drawing parallels with Jadon Sancho’s similar career move. However, it didn’t take off for him.

The left winger joined Hellas Verona in 2023 but only played six times for them and spent last season on loan in Serie B with Salernitana before being released.

Free agent strikers

Paco Alcacer

A well-travelled striker, Alcacer has played for four clubs since leaving Barcelona in 2019. Borussia Dortmund and Villarreal were his most recent clubs in Europe, before spells in the Middle East with Sharjah and Emirates.

Now 32, Alcacer boasted a decent record of 12 goals from 19 caps for Spain, but hasn’t played for his country for more than five years.

Emmanuel Dennis

Dennis was part of Nottingham Forest’s wave of new signings after promotion to the Premier League in 2022, but only scored twice in the top flight, which was a worse return than when he was at Watford.

After ending last season on loan at Blackburn Rovers, Dennis’ deal was terminated in August. There was talk of a return to Watford, but that has been decided against.

Patrick Bamford

A key part of the Leeds side that won promotion to the Premier League in 2020, but less so in 2025, Bamford reached a mutual agreement with the Whites to terminate his contract, leaving with 60 goals from 205 games.

“Right now, with the way it has come to an end and the way things have been handled recently it is all too raw for me to reflect on immediately,” he said.

“But in the years to come I will look back at this period of my life with nothing but joy and pride and be super happy with what I have achieved.

“I want to thank all the managers I played under but especially Marcelo Bielsa. I don’t know where the club would be without the foundations he laid.”

Bamford has most recently been linked with a move abroad to Getafe, but that trail has gone quiet.

Diego Costa

Former Chelsea and Wolves striker Costa was released by Gremio in January after scoring eight goals 26 games for the Brazilian side.

He hasn’t played in Europe since 2023.

Mario Balotelli

Anyone fancy a punt on Balotelli? The firebrand former Manchester City striker is a fading talent these days and his return to Italian football with Genoa last season didn’t bring any goals, so he would be even more of a gamble these days as his career nears an end.