Mbappe to Modric: Football's best potential free agents in 2024
One way of doing this is by pre-agreeing free transfers when a player's contract is set to expire in six months (or less).
Clubs can negotiate with players in January over a future move when their contract expires on June 30th 2024 - and there is a great deal of top-quality potential free agents for teams to look at.
Here, Flashscore has put together a starting XI of possible free transfers in 2024.
*Some players have expiring deals, but an option of extending for another year should their club choose to do so.
GK – Keylor Navas (PSG)
Keylor Navas is set to become a free agent at the culmination of the current season and is out of favour at PSG.
The Costa Rican comes with huge pedigree having won titles in France and Spain as well as the Champions League three times.
He showed in a loan spell with Nottingham Forest last season that he still has plenty to offer, so he could be a good target for sides in need of a goalkeeper.
Honourable mentions (HM): Alex Meret*, Rui Patricio, Koen Casteels
DEF – Serge Aurier (Nottingham Forest)
One of the surprise packages in the Premier League last season was Serge Aurier.
His return to England with Nottingham Forest went quite under-the-radar but Aurier quickly established himself as a regular starter and someone more than capable of making a positive difference as Forest secured survival in England's top flight.
With his contract up in the summer of 2024, several clubs could be looking at the Ivorian to add some stability to their defence.
HM: Kenny Tete*, Aaron Wan-Bissaka*, Lucas Vazquez
DEF – Mario Hermoso (Atletico Madrid)
Miguel Hermoso has been a consistent performer for Atletico Madrid this season, featuring 16 times in La Liga and playing in all six Champions League group stage games.
The Spanish international will have plenty of interest in him should Atletico delay offering him a new deal - and at the age of 28 he still has some of his best years ahead of him.
HM: Victor Lindelof*, Eric Dier, Lukas Klostermann
DEF – Lloyd Kelly (Bournemouth)
Bournemouth's Lloyd Kelly presents an interesting option for a lot of Premier League clubs in particular.
Injuries and the success of both Marcos Senesi and Ilya Zabarnyi have limited Kelly's appearances as of late but the Englishman is still only 25 and a solid defender.
A decent, left-footed, English defender is hard to come by at the best of times - let alone on a free transfer - so clubs could be ready to move for the centre-back when the time arises.
HM: Tosin Adarabioyo, Joel Matip, Tiago Djalo
DEF – Leonardo Spinazzola (Roma)
Many supporters will remember Leonardo Spinazzola from his fantastic performances for Italy at Euro 2020, where his superb tournament was cut short with an Achilles injury that would see him miss the next nine months of football.
Injuries have continued to hamper Spinazzola since then to the point where his contract is set to expire in the summer of 2024.
He will be 31 by the time his current deal ends but he has featured 14 times so far this season and could still be a valuable addition to any side in need of an attacking full-back next summer.
HM: Marcos Alonso*, Alex Sandro, Harry Toffolo
MID – Adrien Rabiot (Juventus)
Adrien Rabiot is in the middle of his prime years as a midfielder and looks to be finally starting to fulfil some of the potential he showed during the early stages of his career.
His time at Juventus looked to be coming to an end last season until he signed a year extension at the end of the campaign.
It remains to be seen whether the same will happen again next summer, but plenty of top clubs will be sniffing around Rabiot should no new contract arise again with Juventus.
HM: Thiago, Piotr Zielinski, Koke
MID – Toni Kroos (Real Madrid)
One of the greatest midfielders of his generation, Toni Kroos looks set to finally leave Real Madrid next summer with his 10-year stint at the European giants coming to an end.
Kroos has won everything there is to win in football including a World Cup and five Champions Leagues - yet he is still just 33 and could have more to give at the top level.
The evolution of Madrid's midfield means it might be time for Kroos to move on but there will undoubtedly be a long queue of clubs looking for his signature.
HM: Daichi Kamada, Wilfried Ndidi, Jorginho
MID – Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
Another of Madrid's legendary midfielders, Luka Modric is also set to be let go at the end of the current season.
The Ballon d'Or winner will surely attract plenty of attention when his deal does expire - that's if he chooses to continue playing the game.
Modric will be closing in on 39 by the time a new season rolls around so it remains to be seen whether or not he will carry on.
HM: Marco Reus, Isco, Dele Alli
FWD – Nicolas Pepe (Trabzonspor)
Former Arsenal winger Nicolas Pepe had a poor time in England and hasn't set the world alight since moving to Turkey with Trabzonspor but could be an interesting option for sides lower down the leagues in Europe.
There was a time when Pepe was one of the hottest wingers on the planet after netting 22 goals and providing 11 assists in 2018/19 for Nice.
Although he has failed to replicate that form since then he could still get one more chance in Europe's top divisions.
HM: Angel Di Maria, Juan Cuadrado, Felipe Anderson
FWD – Gabriel Barbosa (Flamengo)
Technically, Gabriel 'Gabigol' Barboa's contract doesn't expire until the end of 2024 but plenty of clubs in Europe will be circling in an attempt to bring in the Brazilian striker.
Gabriel has already had one failed stint in Europe with Inter Milan and Benfica, but his form since returning to Brazil has been good and another crack at Europe must be tempting for the 27-year-old.
He has 85 goals in the Brazilian Serie A since his return in 2018 and could be an attractive prospect to clubs in need of a striker.
HM: Anthony Martial*, Che Adams, Kelechi Iheanacho
FWD – Kylian Mbappe (PSG)
Kylian Mbappe is by far the biggest name set to become a free agent next summer, with his crazy deal at PSG finally set to expire.
The forward has made it clear for some time now that he sees a future away from Paris - most likely with Real Madrid.
There does always seem to be the nagging idea, though, that Mbappe could sign another extension at PSG, which would likely just delay the transfer saga further.
There might not be a better time for someone to come in for one of the best in the world.
