No Lingards here: Premier League free agent XI who deserve a fond farewell

Mark Noble, Antonio Rudiger and James Milner

These players should be clapped off the pitch over the next couple of weekends as Premier League clubs say goodbye to some long-serving heroes…

 

Goalkeeper: Ben Foster (Watford)
“I will always hold my head high knowing I’ve given absolutely everything I’ve got, both on and off the field to help myself and everyone around me to be a success, I don’t know what the future holds for me, but I’ve got to say, Watford will always have a special place in my heart.”

Four years, two relegations, seven permanent managers. Ben Foster probably deserves a rest.

 

Right-back: Martin Kelly (Crystal Palace)
“When you see the way he’s training every day [and] you see the way he is coming early and to look after himself; he’s working well, he’s working hard and he’s just waiting for his chance. This is what I want.”

Yet Patrick Vieira has not handed a single minute of Premier League football to Kelly as the 32-year-old enters the final weeks of his eight-year spell at Palace. The Frenchman is not made of stone so expect the one-cap England international to be given three minutes at the end of the final day’s 7-0 humiliation of Manchester United.

 

Centre-back: Antonio Rudiger (Chelsea)
Simply brilliant under Thomas Tuchel, making a mockery of Frank Lampard’s attempts to freeze him out at the start of last season (was it really only last season?). Bound for Real Madrid, the Spanish giants are stealing a centre-half entering the peak of his career. He will leave Chelsea along with Andreas Christensen (and possibly Cesar Azpilicueta) but the truth is that the German leaves the biggest hole.

“We will miss him a lot. He gives courage in the dressing room. The kind everyone is afraid of, but the kind to play 50-55 games at an outstanding level. He is a top defender in the last one-and-a-half years for me,” said a clearly rocked Tuchel as he confirmed the departure of a true giant of the modern game.

 

Centre-back: James Tarkowski (Burnley)
It seems faintly ridiculous that Tarkowski has only been at Burnley for six-and-a-half years as we struggle to remember one without the other. He joined from Brentford while Burnley were in the Championship – and in typical Sean Dyche style was not immediately trusted – and may leave this summer with them back in the second flight without their iconic manager.

An obvious target for any club in the second bracket of Premier League clubs, Tarkowski has been predictably linked with Newcastle, Everton, Aston Villa and West Ham. He will be sorely missed by many in Burnley, but mostly by Ben Mee. It’s like Ant without Dec.

 

Left-back: Romain Saiss (Wolves)
We have definitely seen Saiss lumbering around at left-back so he fills in here, with the help of a crowbar. After six years and over 200 games at Wolves from the Moroccan, he is apparently ready to move on and has turned down the offer of a new contract at Molineux. Though it remains to be seen whether the contract is still on the table after two pretty disastrous weeks.

Saiss has been at Wolves so long that he was signed by Walter Zenga, who brought in ten permanent signings in the summer of 2016. Needless to say, Saiss has been the last man standing for some time now; Zenga himself was gone by that November.

 

Central midfield: Joao Moutinho (Wolves)
A simply wonderful footballer. Should Sunday’s clash with Norwich be the last time the Molineux crowd see the Portuguese in the flesh, they will say goodbye knowing they were truly blessed to see him in the gold for four years of poise, leadership and brilliance.

“What I know is the club wants him and the player wants to stay,” said boss Bruno Lage last month. “After that, the only thing I can say is that I am very happy to work with him.”

He’s 35 but plays with the enthusiasm of a teenager. Sign him up, Wolves.

Moutinho winner Wolves Man United

 

Central midfield: Fernandinho (Manchester City)
In nine years at Manchester City he has won four Premier League titles, six League Cups and an FA Cup. And I am old enough to remember the underwhelmed reaction when City bought him for £34m, because even as late as 2013 there was lingering suspicion of big-money signings who didn’t lend themselves to YouTube compilations.

We are approaching the final days of Fernandinho as he attempts to add Premier League title No. 5 to his collection. That he will likely do so filling in at centre-half at the age of 37 somehow feels apt.

 

Central midfield: Mark Noble (West Ham)
Noble has made 548 appearances for the Hammers since making his debut in 2004. There will be tears on Sunday.

 

Central midfield: James Milner (Liverpool)
“I am taking my football coaching badges, but my only intention at present is to play football for as long as I can,” said Milner in February. “Us footballers are retired from football for a long time.”

Whether Milner will play his final days for Liverpool or elsewhere is not yet clear; it probably depends whether he believes starting eight Premier League games in a season is enough as his career enters the finishing straight. Could his last game in a Liverpool shirt be a Champions League final?

 

Striker: Divock Origi (Liverpool)
Could his last goal in a Liverpool shirt be in the Champions League final? You wouldn’t bet against it.

 

Striker: Alexandre Lacazette (Arsenal)
At times there has been a lack of goals but there has never been a lack of effort from the Frenchman since he arrived in London from Lyon five years ago. In the end a total of 71 goals from 203 games is more than respectable and Arsenal fans will show their appreciation for his service if the final-day clash with Everton turns into a party to celebrate a return to the Champions League.

Even in what has seemed a disastrous season from Lacazette in front of goal, the contributions have been logged and should be acknowledged…