Pogba, Dele Alli, Navas and the best former Premier League players that are currently free agents
Dele Alli, Paul Pogba and Keylor Navas are all out of contract
Former Manchester United, Arsenal and Tottenham players are among the highest-profile free agents currently without a club.
The summer transfer window is now closed but free agents can be signed outside the restrictions of the transfer window.
TEAMtalk have taken a look at 10 of the best former Premier League players who are currently available on a free transfer.
Note: we’ve only included players who have made at least 10 Premier League appearances.
Paul Pogba
Pogba joined Manchester United for a then-world-record transfer fee in the summer of 2016 and made over 150 appearances in the Premier League.
After leaving United on a free transfer at the end of the 2021/22 season, the France international returned to Juventus for a second spell.
But he has not played since September 2023 after he tested positive for DHEA – a banned substance that raises levels of testosterone – and was given a four-year doping ban.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has since reduced the length of the suspension to 18 months, and he is slated to return to action in March 2025.
“I would just like to be on the pitch, any pitch,” Pogba said after the verdict. “I am still the same player with a different hunger, more motivated and more hungry.
“I will appreciate the game more than before because the game has been taken away from me. I realise how important it is for me.”
He has now agreed to leave Juventus by mutual consent and is reportedly looking to continue his career in one of Europe’s top five leagues.
The 31-year-old midfielder has been linked with Newcastle United, West Ham and Villarreal.
𝑨𝒏 𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌.
🎨 @PaulPogba#MUFC pic.twitter.com/GmeenPwexw
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) August 18, 2021
Keylor Navas
Navas has enjoyed a trophy-laden career, having won three Champions Leagues, four FIFA Club World Cups, two UEFA Super Cups, three Ligue 1 titles, a La Liga title and eight domestic cups.
The 37-year-old goalkeeper also had a brief stint in the Premier League, making 17 appearances for Nottingham Forest in the second half of the 2022/23 season.
He left Paris Saint-Germain in the summer and looked set to join Italian side Monza on a free transfer but talks ultimately fell through.
The former Costa Rica international could now leave Europe as he’s been linked with a return to boyhood club Saprissa, as well as MLS side San Diego FC and Brazilian side Gremio.
Serge Aurier
Aurier had two separate stints in the Premier League, spending four years at Tottenham and a year-and-a-half at Nottingham Forest.
The 31-year-old right-back signed a short-term contract with Galatasaray in February but made just four appearances for the Turkish side and is now without a club.
Cedric Soares
Cedric was released by Arsenal at the end of the 2023/24 season and has since been linked with Ajax, PSV Eindhoven, Feyenoord, Nice, Rennes, Olympiakos, Botafogo and Flamengo.
“I want to make the right decision,” the right-back said. “Of course I’ve been contacted and I’ve had a few offers.
“But it’s an important moment for me and my family, it’s a moment for me to make sure it’s the right project, that I get the playing time I need and, above all, that it will also make me happy.
“I’ll be honest, I’m open to both options [Portugal or abroad], but it has to make sense for me and for the clubs. And that’s very important, that both parts really want the same thing.
“When that’s the case, things can get under way, otherwise it doesn’t make sense.”
Timothy Fosu-Mensah
A Manchester United academy graduate, Fosu-Mensah made 30 appearances for the club and also had loan spells at Fulham and Crystal Palace.
He moved to Bayer Leverkusen in January 2021 but endured an injury-plagued three-and-a-half-year stint with the Bundesliga side and didn’t make a single first-team appearance in 2023/24.
The 26-year-old defender recently had a trial at Serie A side Como but didn’t sign a contract and is still without a club.
Cheikhou Kouyate
Kouyate made a total of 291 Premier League appearances during his time at West Ham United, Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest.
The Senegal international left Forest at the end of the 2023/24 season and looked set to join Leeds United on a free transfer, but the Championship side reportedly pulled the plug on a potential deal after he failed his medical.
Francis Coquelin
Coquelin came through the academy at Arsenal and went on to make 160 appearances for the club, winning two FA Cups and the Community Shield.
After leaving the Emirates in January 2018, the midfielder had successful stints at Valencia and Villarreal but is now without a club.
“I have the motivation, but if at the end of January, I’m not in a club that I’m interested in, we’re going to start asking questions,” he said when asked about his future.
Dele Alli
Once considered one of the best midfielders in the Premier League, Dele won the PFA Young Player of the Year award with Tottenham in 2015/16 and 2016/17.
But injuries and off-field issues have derailed his career, and he last played a competitive game while on loan at Besiktas in February 2023.
The 28-year-old is currently without a club after seeing his Everton contract expire in the summer, but he is still training at Finch Farm and could be offered a new deal.
“He would dearly love to play for Everton in the Premier League and we would dearly love that to happen as well because the boy has had a very difficult time,” Everton director of football Kevin Thelwell said.
🏴💫 #GoalOfTheDay | Dele Alli vs Manchester United (2019) pic.twitter.com/vht9IbeRFc
— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) October 16, 2024
Marco van Ginkel
Van Ginkel joined Chelsea from Vitesse Arnhem in 2013 and was billed as the next Frank Lampard but failed to live up to expectations.
The Netherlands international had loan spells at AC Milan, Stoke City and PSV Eindhoven before joining the latter on a permanent deal in 2021.
He became a free agent after his second spell at Vitesse came to an end in the summer and has since been linked with a move to Rangers.
Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting
Despite scoring just five goals in 30 Premier League appearances for Stoke City in 2017/18, Choupo-Moting has since had stints at Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich.
He netted 17 goals for Bayern in 2022/23 but fell down the pecking order following Harry Kane’s arrival and was released in the summer.
The 35-year-old striker has reportedly turned down offers to play in Brazil and Dubai and is currently using Bayern’s facilities to keep fit.
Other honourable mentions: Loris Karius, Daniel Amartey, Brandon Williams, Muhamed Besic, Jeff Hendrick, Gervinho, Lys Mousset, Wilfried Bony.
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