TRANSFER ANALYSIS

The best contract rebels in Europes top leagues – and the teams who should swoop in January


Even in the final hours of the transfer window, it was expected that Alexis Sanchez and Ross Barkley would be sold by their respective clubs due to being in the final year of their contracts.
Manchester City lodged a bid for Sanchez in the region of £60m but Arsenal turned it down as they didn’t have enough time to find a replacement.


Barkley, meanwhile, appeared set for a move to Chelsea from Everton after the clubs agreed a £30m fee, but he made a dramatic U-turn during his medical and headed back to Goodison Park.
Unless Arsenal and Everton can convince them to sign new contracts in the next four months, both players will be able to negotiate with other clubs in January over a summer move when their contracts expire.

That would mean Arsenal and Everton would miss out on transfer fees for the pair who collectively would’ve accumulated £90m between them this summer.
Sanchez and Barkley are far from being the only high-profile footballers who could be available for nothing next summer. In fact, there are a load of good players in Europe’s top five leagues who are approaching the end of their contracts in 2018.
Here are some of the biggest names who can negotiate a move elsewhere in January.


Premier League

Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal)

Likelihood of renewal: 2/10 – Sanchez has cut a frustrated figure at Arsenal for some time and a poor start to the season will have done nothing to convince him his long-term future is at the Emirates.
Potential suitors: Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Juventus

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Mesut Ozil (Arsenal)

Likelihood of renewal: 5/10 – Unlike Sanchez, there hasn’t been a clamour for Ozil’s services this summer but that would likely change if he started to agitate for a move.
Potential suitors: Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona, Fenerbahce



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Ross Barkley (Everton)

Likelihood of renewal: 2/10 – Barkley looked nailed on to leave Everton this summer after rejecting a new deal and he will find it tough to get into the side with Gylfi Sigurdsson and Davy Klaassen signed to replace him.
Potential suitors: Chelsea, Tottenham


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Emre Can (Liverpool)

Likelihood of renewal: 3/10 – Can is becoming an increasingly influential player at Liverpool but there have been reports that he has verbally agreed to join Juventus next year.
Potential suitors: Juventus

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Ander Herrera (Manchester United)

Likelihood of renewal: 7/10 – although he has temporarily lost his place to Nemanja Matic, Herrera remains a favourite amongst fans and Jose Mourinho alike and a new deal will surely be on the table soon enough.
Potential suitors: Barcelona

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Juan Mata (Manchester United)

Likelihood of renewal: 7/10 – Mata has turned things around Mourinho after being sold by him at Chelsea and is an important member of the first-team squad.
Potential suitors: Roma, Chelsea

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Luke Shaw (Manchester United)

Likelihood of renewal: 5/10 – Shaw has failed to make an impression on Mourinho and may look to move on for the sake of his career. However, United have the option to extend his deal by a year which could complicate matters.
Potential suitors: Tottenham, Southampton

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Daley Blind (Manchester United)

Likelihood of renewal: 5/10 – A similar scenario to Shaw. Blind isn’t naturally suited to playing for a Mourinho team but has his uses and the club may look to trigger an extension before selling him.
Potential suitors: Roma, Ajax


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La Liga

Andres Iniesta (Barcelona)

Likelihood of renewal: 4/10 – Iniesta is Barcelona’s club captain but is no longer the force he once was and recently hinted that his time with the club could come to an end next summer.
Potential suitors: Albacete, MLS, Al-Sadd


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Jose Gimenez (Atletico Madrid)

Likelihood of renewal: 5/10 – Gimenez hasn’t been assured of a place in the Atletico side for some time now and with Diego Simeone’s future up in the air, the Uruguayan might opt for a new challenge.
Potential suitors: Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Barcelona


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Marcos Llorente (Real Madrid)

Likelihood of renewal: 7/10 – Real Madrid haven’t put a foot wrong over the past couple of years and they will surely look to tie down one of their most promising youngsters to a longer deal.
Potential suitors: Valencia, Arsenal


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Kepa (Athletic Club)

Likelihood of renewal: 5/10 – Athletic usually make it very difficult for rival clubs to prise away their players but if Kepa continues to enhance his reputation they could face a fight to retain him.
Potential suitors: Napoli, Atletico Madrid


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Serie A

Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus)

Likelihood of renewal: 8/10 – after losing Leonardo Bonucci to AC Milan, surely Juventus will do all they can to keep hold of Giorgio Chiellini.
Potential suitors: AC Milan, Chelsea

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Stefan De Vrij (Lazio)

Likelihood of renewal: 2/10 – Lazio have sold their best players this summer and will find it difficult to better their 5th place finish last season meaning De Vrij could be tempted with a move elsewhere.
Potential suitors: Manchester United, Tottenham, Inter

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Faouzi Ghoulam (Napoli)

Likelihood of renewal: 8/10 – There were reports that Ghoulam would sign a new deal at San Paolo at the end of August and while that is so far yet to materialise it could just be a matter of time.
Potential suitors: Liverpool, Monaco

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Miranda (Inter)

Likelihood of renewal: 5/10 – The veteran Brazilian remains an important member of the Inter side but did their signing of Milan Skriniar and interest in Shkodran Mustafoi suggest they’d be willing to let him leave?
Potential suitors: Atletico Madrid

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Bundesliga

Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich)

Likelihood of renewal: 6/10 – As long as Robben is useful to Bayern Munich they’ll be happy to keep him. He penned a new one-year deal in January and if he has a strong first half of the season that could happen again.
Potential suitors: Manchester United, PSV

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Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich)

Likelihood of renewal: 4/10 – Ribery will have spent 11-years at Bayern by the end of his current deal and could be open to a return to Marseille where he enjoyed a shortlived spell previously.
Potential suitors: Marseille

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Leon Goretzka (Schalke 04)

Likelihood of renewal: 3/10 – Schalke routinely lose their brightest young players and Goretzka looks likely to leave after offering himself to Barcelona this summer.
Potential suitors: Barcelona, Arsenal, Liverpool, Bayern Munich

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Max Meyer (Schalke 04)

Likelihood of renewal: 2/10 – The diminutive playmaker has already suggested that he will be off next summer, saying: “As things stand, I will leave next summer.”
Potential suitors: Liverpool, Tottenham, Borussia Dortmund


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Ligue 1

Mario Balotelli (Nice)
Likelihood of renewal: 3/10 – Balotelli doesn’t stick around anywhere for too long and has been criticised by his manager Lucien Favre already this season.
Potential suitors: Napoli, Borussia Dortmund, Marseille

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Joao Moutinho (Monaco)

Likelihood of renewal: 5/10 – Moutinho has retained his place in Monaco’s midfield this term after being restricted to a bit-part role last season.
Potential suitors: FC Porto, Sporting Lisbon

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Vincent Koziello (OGC Nice)

Likelihood of renewal: 6/10 – With Jean Michael Seri’s future unclear the club may wish to tie Koziello down to a long-term deal.
Potential suitors: Arsenal, Leicester, Saint-Etienne, Marseille, Monaco
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Alassane Plea (Nice)

Likelihood of renewal: 4/10 – Much depends on how well Nice can recover from a disappointing start to the season as Plea is highly-rated across Europe.
Potential suitors: Monaco, Marseille, West Ham