PL winner, two Man Utd summer ‘targets’ in XI of free agents ready-made for Championship clubs

The summer transfer window has closed but Championship clubs could be tempted back into the market, with this XI featuring free agents primed to be snapped up.

GK: Matt Macey
Luton Town’s former back-up goalkeeper was robbed of a season in the Premier League as his contract was mutually terminated at the start of this month.

The summer arrivals of Thomas Kaminski and Tim Krul sealed Macey’s Kenilworth Road fate and the ex-Arsenal academy product is now searching for a new home.

Aged 28, Macey will presumably want to be his next club’s first-choice goalkeeper and after featuring regularly while on loan at Portsmouth last season, a move to a low-end Championship side or League One high-flyer should be on the cards.

RB: Ryan Nyambe
The Namibia international was one of Wigan Athletic’s signings last term as he left Blackburn Rovers to join the Championship strugglers on a free transfer.

Wigan’s fortunes improved following Shaun Maloney’s return to the club as manager but their financial difficulties were too much to overcome in the end as they suffered relegation.

The 25-year-old has already made over 200 appearances in the Championship so it is somewhat surprising he has not yet been snapped up by a club in the second tier.

CB: Ciaran Clark
The 33-year-old has enjoyed prolonged spells at Aston Villa and Newcastle United, with the majority of his career being spent in the Premier League.

Clark was used sparingly while on loan at Sheffield United last season but with Newcastle now turning their attention to higher quality players, he has been let go and is still out of work.

Of the players mentioned up to now, Clark is most likely to end up back in the Championship as most clubs in the second tier would no doubt be delighted to acquire a defender of his calibre and experience.

CB: Daniel Ayala
There was a time when Ayala was considered to be one of the best defenders in the Championship as the Spaniard thrived during his time at Middlesbrough.

The 32-year-old’s injury-disrupted spell at Blackburn Rovers did not go to plan and the two parties decided to go their separate ways when his contract expired this summer.

But the veteran defender still has a lot more to give and it would be a no-brainer for Championship teams to pick him up if he can prove his fitness.

LB: Ryan Bertrand
Manchester United’s transfer window failings are either infuriating or hysterical (depending on whether you support them). So when Luke Shaw’s injury forced them into the market for a left-back, everyone knew that we were going to be in for a treat.

Marc Cucurella and Sergio Reguilon emerged as sensible(ish) options, while Bertrand was a way more left-field potential signing.

Once a starter in a Champions League final, Bertrand has been on the decline since this crowning moment and he is coming off a couple of seasons as a back-up left-back at Leicester City. While a move to Manchester United would have been baffling, a switch to the Championship to prolong his career is far more likely.

CM: Danny Drinkwater
A move to Chelsea has been the breaking of many players in recent times and Drinkwater has been a sufferer of the Stamford Bridge poisoned chalice.

Genuinely a vital player for Leicester City during their historic Premier League title-winning campaign, Drinkwater is now perhaps better known for booting a 16-year-old in an Under-23s game (he was obviously the Prick of that Week).

Nondescript spells at Aston Villa and Burnley were followed by a stint at Reading last term. He’s attempted to sell himself to clubs by claiming he’s “more hungry to play football than in years” and a Championship team will surely bite before long.

CM: Peter Etebo
Remember this guy? The £6m ex-Stoke City flop who was signed as part of their £50m+ post-relegation splurge under Gary Rowett in 2018? That was a bewildering time (thankfully the Potters appear to have now *finally* sorted themselves out).

The Nigeria international was a bold signing at the time and he (unsurprisingly) failed to live up to expectations at the Championship outfit.

Etebo – who later had a loan spell at Watford – is coming off a year at Greek side Aris and the 27-year-old trying again in the Championship really cannot be ruled out. Third time lucky, I suppose.

RW: Anwar El Ghazi
Man Utd ‘target’ number two. Pre-season optimism at Old Trafford has quickly subsided and their situation is not being helped by their crisis on the flanks.

Antony has been given time off as he attempts to clear his name in Brazil, while Jadon Sancho has had a fallout with Erik ten Hag. So with the free agent market in full flow, The Daily Mail reported that Man Utd were in for El Ghazi as a short-term stop-gap. This was great fun until The (far more reputable) Athletic refuted this story.

El Ghazi will not seal a dream move to Man Utd and his recent forgettable spell at Everton has perhaps indicated that his Premier League days are over, but he is still capable of doing a good job for most clubs in the Championship.

READ MORE: Ten desperate Man Utd signings including hasty loans, a returning retiree and Cantona’s mate

CAM: Luke Freeman
The creative midfielder has not been able to replicate his QPR form that earned him a £5m move to Sheffield United in 2019 and he was a bit-part player for play-off winners Luton Town last season.

But the 31-year-old’s quality in the final third should make him a tempting option for a few Championship sides that are currently lacking a spark in attacking areas.

LW: Tariqe Fosu
The 27-year-old winger was a regular for Brentford prior to their promotion to the Premier League, but he has been left behind while they have been on their top-flight journey.

Fosu has made just one Premier League appearance for the Bees and he has spells on loan at Stoke and Rotherham United last term.

He produced a couple of moments of magic that helped Rotherham avoid relegation but his game-to-game inconsistency will prevent him from joining a leading Championship outfit.

ST: Andre Ayew
The experienced forward was one of 30 (THIRTY) signings Nottingham Forest made last season but he’s been let go after barely featuring for Steve Cooper’s side last term.

He’s been linked with a move to newly-promoted Premier League side Sheffield United but being a Championship purist, I would love him to roll back the years and recreate the form he showed at Swansea City between 2019 and 2021. Thirty-one league goals in 87 games… he was dead good.

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