The January transfer window may still be a month away, but there are bargains to be had for clubs prepared to look for free agents.
David de Gea remains without a club after leaving Manchester United in the summer and, as Mail Sport reported on Monday he may well remain in the Premier League with Newcastle looking for a replacement for the injured Nick Pope.
The latter is expected to miss around four months after dislocating his shoulder in the 1-0 win over Manchester United on Saturday, exacerbating an serious injury crisis that has deprived Eddie Howe of 10 senior players.
De Gea’s former United teammate Jesse Lingard is also a free agent after leaving Nottingham Forest in the summer following an underwhelming 17 appearances.
The former England international has trained with both West Ham and Al-Ettifaq since, but neither club has offered him a contract.
David de Gea remains without a club after leaving Manchester United last summer
Cast a wider net and a couple of former Premier League defenders are also still looking for their next club in the shape of Shkodran Mustafi and Mamamdou Sakho.
Below, Mail Sport looks at some of the best free agents currently available.
David de Gea
By some distance the best player available on a free, de Gea remains without a club after his 12-year spell at Manchester United ended last season.
As Mail Sport exclusively reported on Monday, the Spaniard is among the candidates to replace Nick Pope at Newcastle until the end of the season.
The England international is facing a lengthy lay-off after dislocating his shoulder in the 1-0 win over United on Saturday.
De Gea was on £375,000-per-week during his final contract at Old Trafford and would have to accept lower to fit in with their wage structure if Newcastle were to make a firm move for him.
Jesse Lingard
The former England international has been without a club since leaving Nottingham Forest at the end of last season after making just 17 appearances for Steve Cooper‘s side.
Lingard trained with West Ham in August, but hopes he could return to the London Stadium where he enjoyed a successful loan spell two years ago – he scored nine goals and registered five assists in 16 appearances in the Premier League – were swiftly dashed.
The 30-year-old signed a one-month contract with Al-Ettifaq in October, but a permanent deal failed to materialise as Steven Gerrard’s side already have used their eight…