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| Didier Drogba of Chelsea |
Much of the focus regarding the upcoming summer transfer window concerns
high-profile stars such as the £60million-rated Paul Pogba, the world's most
expensive player Gareth Bale and England starlet Raheem Sterling.
However, England's top-flight clubs may be able to grab themselves a
bargain during the next few months as no fewer than 81 Premier League players
will become free agents in the summer.
Didier Drogba, Shaun Wright-Phillips and James Milner are some of the
biggest names still facing uncertain futures.
Players including England international Glen Johnson and former
team-mate Rio Ferdinand are yet to renew their current club contracts.
Chelsea hero Drogba has managed four goals in 27 league appearances for
Jose Mourinho's side this year, and despite captain John Terry urging the club
to offer him a new deal, he has been linked to a move away from Stamford
Bridge.
Aston Villa defender Ron Vlaar, who has been linked with a move to
Manchester United, could be set to leave the FA Cup finalists despite Tim Sherwood's
eagerness to tie him down.
Sherwood is keen on landing a free agent of his own as Red Devils
midfielder Tom Cleverley, who has been on loan at Villa since August, will end
his affiliation with United in June.
Villa boss Sherwood recently joked: 'We’d like to keep
him but he’s obviously got a few options – even more now. I’ll just tell him if
he won’t sign he’s not playing in the cup final!'
Another Englishman who is likely to garner a considerable amount of
interest is Burnley's Danny Ings.
Liverpool, Manchester United and David Moyes' Real Sociedad have been
linked with a move for the striker and the Clarets' relegation to the
Championship will only hurry Ings out of Turf Moor.
Arsene Wenger has a big decision to make over two of
his compatriots as both Abou Diaby and Mathieu Flamini are out of contract at
the end of the campaign.
Diaby, who has again been crocked for the majority of the season, could
be offered a pay-as-you-play deal while Flamini could move on to pastures new
following his second stint in north London.
Manchester United could lose another youngster as James Wilson, who is
highly thought of at Old Trafford, is yet to commit his long-term future to the
club.
Chris Ramsey, if he is to remain in charge of QPR, faces the toughest
decision of all the Premier League managers, having to decide the futures of
nine current squad players - more than any other team in the league.
Meanwhile, Southampton manager Ronald Koeman can get to work on bringing
in signings to bolster his squad - with no existing player contracts set to end
on June 30, this year.
Long-time servants of the Premier League; Brad Friedel, Jussi
Jaaskelainen, Thomas Sorensen and Steve Harper - who have a combined age of 161
- have spent the majority of the season on the bench and could be released come
July.
Should the likes of QPR's Joey Barton and Richard Dunne not fancy
another year back in the Championship, they could well be tempted to join the
likes of newly-promoted teams Watford and Bournemouth, who'll both be seeking
valuable Premier League experience.
PLAYERS OUT
OF CONTRACT AT THE END OF 2014-15 SEASON
Arsenal: Mathieu
Flamini, Abou Diaby, Damian Martinez
Aston Villa: Darren Bent, Ron Vlaar, Chris Herd, Enda Stevens
Burnley: Dean Marney, Steven Reid, Ross Wallace, Michael Duff, Danny
Ings
Chelsea: Didier Drogba, Gael Kakuta
Crystal Palace: Shola Ameobi, Jerome Thomas, Brede Hangeland, Owen
Garvan, Damien Delaney
Everton: Sylvain
Distin, Antolin Alcaraz, Luke Garbutt
Hull City: Steve Harper, Liam Rosenior, Paul McShane, Alex Bruce,
Stephen Quinn, Yannick Sagbo, Maynor Figueroa, Joe Dudgeon
Leicester: Esteban Cambiasso, Matthew Upson, Paul Konchesky, Marcin
Wasilewski, Dean Hammond, Conrad Logan, Zoumana Bakayogo
Liverpool: Kolo Toure, Glen Johnson, Jon Flanagan, Jerome Sinclair
Manchester City: Richard Wright, James Milner, Micah Richards, John
Guidetti
Manchester United: Tom Cleverley, James Wilson, Ben Amos
Newcastle United: Jonas Guitierrez, Ryan Taylor, Sammy Ameobi,
Freddie Woodman
Queen Park Rangers: Shaun Wright-Phillips, Rio Ferdinand, Joey
Barton, Richard Dunne, Brian Murphy, Bobby Zamora, Karl Henry, Clint Hill,
Alejandro Faurlin
Southampton: Artur Boruc
Stoke City: Jonathan Walters, Thomas Sorensen, Peter Odemwingie,
Andy Wilkinson, Wilson Palacios
Sunderland: Wes Brown, Anthony Reveillere
Swansea City: Gerhard Tremmel, David Cornell
Tottenham Hotspur: Brad Friedel
West Bromwich Albion: Boaz Myhill, Chris Baird, Gareth McAuley, Youssuf
Mulumbu, Claudio Yacob
West Ham: Guy Demel,
Carlton Cole, Jussi Jaaskelainen, Nene
Source:dailymailsport.co.uk
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