Top ten free agents with Premier League experience

Matt Stead

Luis Suarez could soon be added to this list. At No. 1 of course…

 

10) Giannelli Imbula
Parachuted into this list after the entirely predictable move of Jeff Hendrick (Irish, can ‘do a job’) to Newcastle is Imbula, who joined Stoke for a club-record deal in February 2016. “The worst choice (of my career) was to come to Stoke. I could have been a little more patient in Porto, trying to adapt to the championship … especially as we had changed coaches. I could have had the opportunity to play. The most unfortunate choice, I think was Stoke.” The feeling is entirely mutual.

Imbula came, barely looked arsed (Glen Johnson tells a story of him subbing himself in a pre-season game because somebody did not pass him the ball before putting himself back on ten minutes later) and then went on loans with diminishing returns to Toulouse, Rayo Vallecano and Lecce. The latter cancelled his contract on February 21 and Stoke paid him to permanently leave on February 22. Since then he has been accused of stealing a car and played a total of one game for Russian side Sochi.

And now he is free. Anybody want him?

 

 

9) Samir Nasri
“If I had to do it again, would we have signed Samir Nasri? With what we know now, no,” said Anderlecht sporting director Michael Verschueren in February, because of course the fact that Nasri is a feckless has-been is one of the best-kept secrets in football. How could he ever have known? In fairness, he was probably talking about Nasri’s injury problems, which limited him to just five starts in Belgian league football last season.

But the important thing to remember here is that Nasri was absolutely brilliant for a spell at Arsenal and then briefly for Manchester City, and he could shine again. Maybe. Possibly. Well, probably not but it would be fun for the three or four games when he could stay fit. If all else fails, just watch highlights from 2010/11 on a loop…

 

8) Nathaniel Clyne
“The manager has called me a machine in the past. I’m not entirely sure why, it’s probably because I play in loads of games and rarely get injured or come off with knocks,” said Nathaniel Clyne in 2016, before the machine broke down and no amount of switching off/on again could get it working again.

He was actually playing Premier League football as recently as 16 months ago with Bournemouth but yet another injury last summer put paid to any hopes that a half-decent loan spell would lead to either a permanent transfer or a refrain in the Liverpool first team. He then left by the back door this summer while the front was blocked by red ribbons to celebrate a title win he could not enjoy. But there is a decent right-back in there somewhere and it would be marvellous to see him again.

 

7) Branislav Ivanovic
Now 427 but has the arse of a much younger man (as well as his own). He has been at Zenit over the last three-and-a-half seasons but is free to come and join Everton – though that now seems to have gone quiet – on a free transfer to provide healthy doses of experience, attitude and, well, buttocks.

Ivanovic was a force of nature for Chelsea for about eight seasons which reaped three Premier League titles, whether playing as an oddly rampaging full-back or a centre-half. His legacy might well be as a victim of what Wikipedia calls an ‘oral assault’ from Luis Suarez, but to Chelsea fans he will always be a proper hero. And my word, he could hit a ball.

 

6) Fabio Borini
A forward who has never claimed more than nine goals in any league season does not appear on the surface to be a good buy even on a free transfer, but Borini has been a favourite of just about every manager at his many clubs because he works hard and is willing to play in just about any position. Imagine Michail Antonio was Italian and had somehow convinced Brendan Rodgers that he had what it takes to play for Liverpool.

There is talk of interest from both Aston Villa and West Ham, where he would link up again with David Moyes after the shit sandwich of his spell at Sunderland between the crusted loaf of Liverpool and AC Milan.

 

5) Loic Remy
Six years ago he almost joined Liverpool (they were worried about a heart issue) after a phenomenal spell on loan at Newcastle and instead headed to Chelsea to play a pivotal though bit-part role in a Premier League title triumph. It’s all been a tad downhill since but Frenchman Remy has never stopped scoring goals, claiming 21 in 59 games over two seasons with Lille before being released this summer.

We have an inkling that he would be a marvellous signing for Leeds United, who could do with a bit of nous in the forward line. But then there’s the intriguing prospect of Tottenham and their need for a back-up striker. “Probably he deserves more than what I give him,” said Mourinho in the Chelsea years. “Sometimes, not many times, a coach can feel he owes something to a player. With Remy that is the case, I think I owe him something.” Time to cash in, Loic?

 

4) Hatem Ben Arfa
There has been talk of Saint-Etienne but that would be no fun at all; we want him back in the Premier League. His six-month spell at Real Valladolid was an injury-riddled waste of time, so let’s instead remember just how brilliant he was ten years ago at Newcastle and hope we see him here again…

Seriously though, the man could still come back and be sensational. Remember how he followed a terrible, disinterested eight-game loan spell at Hull with a 17-in-34 spell at Nice that earned him a French recall and a big-money move to PSG? He could yet join Aston Villa and be utterly sensational.

 

3) Alex Pato
His ‘Premier League experience’ amounts to two games for Chelsea, but he has a one-in-two record (a penalty in a 4-0 win) and it’s technically Premier League experience so he makes this list. And he’s high on this list because there was a time when he was the new Kaka, Ronaldo and Pele combined in one little body with a baby face that belied his ability to party like (and oftentimes with) Ronaldinho.

Pato’s tale is one of extraordinary waste but he has scored 36 goals in 60 games as recently as 2016-18 in China, so there is still something there if he can be arsed. We would not rule out Fulham panicking into a late move for Pato when they realise in September that their squad is a tad too sensible. But would he move anywhere where the nightclubs are not open?

 

2) Daniel Sturridge
Seven goals in 16 games for Trabzonspor would suggest that there are still goals to be mined from Daniel Sturridge, a player described as “the most intelligent athlete I’ve met” by Liverpool owner John W Henry. Cursed by a fragile body, he has not played a 30-game league season since 2011/12 and yet has always contributed goals, if you ignore a six-game spell at West Brom that exposed their failings as much as his own.

Sturridge has remarkably won two Champions League medals without playing in a final. As it says elsewhere on this site: ‘Where to begin with Sturridge? It feels like he has spent his career being passed around between the top teams, without ever really enjoying an extended period of consistency and fitness.’

The man himself says: “I believe I’ve got a lot to give to the Premier League and I would say that’s my first choice. I do feel I have unfinished business so I would like to go back and play there…”

A 30-year-old former England international available on a free transfer? Someone at West Ham is surely getting twitchy…

 

1) Ryan Fraser
The latest reports are that West Ham are also interested in Ryan Fraser, who sounds like the perfect signing for the Hammers. He’s Scottish – which will appeal to David Moyes – and he’s proven himself to be of questionable character after refusing to play for Bournemouth in their relegation fight for fear of picking up an injury ahead of a potential free transfer.

The karma is that Fraser is seemingly only of interest to the promoted clubs, Crystal Palace and West Ham after previous links with Arsenal and Tottenham have disappeared along with his reputation. In truth, he will make a fine signing for a mid-table side, although we are romantics and would much rather anyone signed Alex Pato or Hatem Ben Arfa.

 

Sarah Winterburn

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