Biggest Name Players Available on a Free Transfer This Summer

The 2024/25 football season is drawing to a close, and once the prizes are decided, the transfer market will take center stage. Every year, a fresh crop of players suddenly becomes available on free transfers courtesy of their contracts expiring, and the summer of 2025 will be no different. 

Some huge names have been taken off the market in recent weeks. Liverpool have finally agreed to extend the contracts of their superstar duo of Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk, while the future of one more of their main men remains up in the air. Elsewhere, Bayern Munich have managed to tie down playmaker Joshua Kimmich to a new deal, while Arsenal managed to cling on to teenage sensation Ethan Nwaneri. 

But even though huge extensions have been penned in recent weeks, there are plenty of superstars still set to hit the market this summer. Here are the biggest of them. 

Trent Alexander-Arnold 

Trent Alexander-Arnold’s recent winner for Liverpool away at Leicester City sparked scenes of pandemonium at the King Power Stadium. His strike handed the Reds a 1-0 win and took them to the brink of the title, creating great excitement among the sportsbook providers like Thunderpick. The latest odds from Thunderpick currently price the Merseysiders as short as 1/100 to claim the crown this term, but even if they do go on to become champions, they still might not be able to keep their beloved number 66 at Anfield. 

Alexander-Arnold’s proposed move to Real Madrid has been touted all year long. Just last month, talks ramped up and news broke that both the player and the club are close to agreeing terms on a jaw-dropping move, news that caused Reds fans to turn their back on their beloved academy product. His jubilant celebrations following that late winner away at The Foxes have triggered hopes that he could well perform a shocking u-turn and remain with his boyhood club, but the lure of the Bernabeu could be too much for the Englishman to turn down. 

Kevin De Bruyne 

Belgian midfielder Kevin De Bruyne will go down in history as one of the greatest players the Premier League has ever seen. Plenty of eyebrows were raised back in the summer of 2015 when Manchester City forked out £55m to bring KDB in from Bundesliga outfit Wolfsburg, making him the second most expensive signing by an English club ever. But boy has the former Chelsea man repaid that transfer fee and then some. 

In the decade since that blockbuster move, De Bruyne has won everything there is to win. Six Premier League titles, multiple domestic cup competitions, and the elusive UEFA Champions League in that famed treble-winning season of 2022/23 have all been claimed. Since 2015, the Belgian has scored over 100 goals and provided well over 150 assists in more than 400 appearances, leading to him being handed the captain’s armband with the Blues. 

But this summer, it all comes to an end. De Bruyne announced at the start of April that he would be leaving City at the end of the season when his contract expires. Several MLS clubs have expressed an interest, and a link-up with Lionel Messi in Miami remains a possibility. 

Leroy Sane 

One man who had been a teammate of De Bruyne’s in Manchester is German winger Leroy Sane. The pair played together for four years between 2016 and 2020, winning two Premier League titles together. The former Schalke prodigy has since returned to his homeland with Bayern Munich, adding a further three Bundesliga crowns to his trophy cabinet. However, this summer, his contract in Bavaria comes to an end, and he is expected to leave the Allianz Arena. 

At the age of 29, Sane remains at the peak of his powers, but there can be no denying that his star has waned somewhat over the last 12 months. In fact, no one’s transfer value has dropped more over the last year than the Bayern man, with Transfermarkt recording his current value at €38m, down from €70m at the start of the season. 

There has been a reported interest from Champions League semi-finalists Arsenal in recent weeks, and a move to the Emirates to provide competition to Bukayo Saka could well be on the cards. 

Jonathan David 

Another man that Arsenal will perhaps be taking a look at, considering their ongoing striker crisis, is Lille man Jonathan David. The Canadian hitman has been a reliable source of goals for the French club since his €27m arrival from Gent in 2020. He bagged 13 goals in his maiden campaign in Ligue 1, helping his club shockingly knock off Paris Saint-Germain to become champions. 

Since then, goals have continued to flow with regular aplomb. This term, he has reached the 25-goal mark for the third straight year, and at the age of 25, he will be one of the hottest commodities on the market this summer, especially on a free transfer. Liverpool, Newcastle, and Inter Milan are all interested in securing his services, and it remains to be seen where he will be plying his trade next season.