Top 5 players who could sign for a new club for free in January

The Bosman ruling suggests that players can agree to a pre-contract with another club for a free transfer if the players’ contract with their existing club has six months or less remaining.

This gives clubs a great chance to sign up players who have not had their contracts expire yet, but are still on the lookout for better options, while the players themselves are able to gauge which teams they could move to if they chose not to sign a contract extension with their existing club.

Therefore, here is a list of the top 5 players whose contracts end in June next year, and would be allowed to discuss a free transfer with other clubs from the start of the January transfer window:

Note that we have considered only players under the age of 30, as many clubs have a policy of signing 30-plus players to one year contracts, and therefore could renew these contracts before the end of the season.

1. Robert Lewandowski

One of the best strikers in the European game currently, 25-year old Lewandowski has turned down a new contract offer from Borussia Dortmund, and looks set to move on a free this summer.

Many rumours suggest that Bayern Munich could already have a deal in place for the Polish international, but the striker himself revealed that no such agreement is done, and a move to the Premier League could be of interest to him:

“I will be able to sign a contract [with any club] in January but I have never said that I will sign a contract with Bayern.

It was a misunderstanding. It is true I had an opportunity to speak with Sir Alex Ferguson [last year] but we didn’t mention the transfer. One day I would like to play in Premier League. It would be a great experience.”

The signing of one of the most lethal strikers in world football on a free would be a massive coup, to say the least.