The January transfer window is an opportunity for teams to fix their summer spending on the cheap, or in these cases, for free.

Premier League icons like Nemanja Vidic and Luis Suarez were signed mid season, and for a cut-price with most clubs not drawn into panic buys.

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Bargains like Philippe Coutinho, Gary Cahill and Clint Dempsey were all landed during the winter, and in some cases fees don’t even apply.

This January will be no different, and talkSPORT has run through an XI of free agents that could be on the move in the New Year.

Keylor Navas

Is a three-time Champions League champion available for free? This is not a joke. Real Madrid icon Keylor Navas has been a free agent since his contract with Paris Saint-Germain concluded in the summer.

At 37, Navas spent the 2022/23 season with Nottingham Forest after PSG invested heavily in Gianluigi Donnarumma, which limited his opportunities in France. Despite his age, Navas still possesses the abilities of a Premier League leading goalkeeper, yet no team has taken the leap to sign him once more.

Potentially holding out for one last opportunity as a starter rather than settling as a backup, a club like Wolves, who are struggling with defensive issues, could be an ideal fit for the Costa Rican goalkeeper.

Brandon Williams

Williams looked like a potential Manchester United regular after graduating from their academy during the 2019/20 season and racking up an impressive 36 appearances.

For one reason or another, things didn’t work out for the 24-year-old who spent a season at Norwich, and then aided Ipswich’s promotion last term.

You’d think that would be enough for another ambitious Championship team to bring him in, but Williams has remained available since his Old Trafford contract expired in the summer.

Sergio Ramos

The biggest name by some distance on this list, the legendary Ramos has been linked with every club in the world since leaving boyhood club Sevilla in the summer.

Numerous Italian sides were seen as potential destinations and then Boca Juniors looked like a very possible landing spot, but nothing came to fruition.

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The 38-year-old, who won four Champions League titles alongside Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid, has reportedly offered his services to Los Blancos amid their injury crisis, but will eventually have to look elsewhere.

Simon Kjaer

A Serie A winner with AC Milan as recently as 2022, Kjaer left the Italian giants in the summer and didn’t find a new home.

A classy operator with captain’s pedigree, the 35-year-old ranks second in Denmark appearances with 132, and could certainly add value to any side lacking leadership and know-how at the back.

Serge Aurier

Another former Forest player who did OK but not OK enough, former Tottenham and PSG right-back Aurier played alongside Navas at the City Ground before a short stint at Galatasaray at the start of the season.

The Turkish Super Lig seemed like an ideal place for the 31-year-old pace merchant to shine, but he only made four appearances and hasn’t found a new club since.

Christoph Kramer

One of those few forgotten World Cup winners, no frills defensive midfielder Kramer made his second appearance of Germany’s victorious 2014 campaign in the final but infamously only lasted half an hour after picking up a concussion.

The 33-year-old bid a teary farewell to Borussia Monchengladbach in the summer and impressed as a pundit on German TV for Euro 2024.

However, he never officially announced his retirement, and should a TV station not give him a lucrative contract, he could be tempted by a January return to action.

Francis Coquelin

It was only recently that former Arsenal man Coquelin was seen in Spain as one of the most underrated midfielders on the planet for his heroics at Villarreal.

A Europa League winner in 2021 and Champions League semi-finalist in 2022 under Unai Emery, The Yellow Submarine possessed somewhat of a club legend.

However, with injury issues always stopping him from becoming a settled regular, they opted against renewing his contract in the summer, and no one else has taken a punt since.

Ryan Kent

Potentially the most sought after name on this list, Kent has been linked to a string of Championship sides as a winger that can certainly still contribute at the age of 28.

A Liverpool academy graduate, Kent made his name as an unplayable winger at Rangers and was key to their title success in 2021 before surprisingly leaving for Fenerbahce in 2023.

It didn’t work out at all in Turkey and Kent saw his four-year contract terminated after just two years, allowing him to be picked up for nothing by a new club in January.

Dele Alli

Reportedly still training and rehabilitating at Everton since the expiration of his contract in 2024, Dele Alli hasn’t played football since a loan to Besiktas in 2023.

He later went on to reveal some gut-wrenching details about his personal life and has since been on the mend. Aged only 28 as one of the youngest players on this list, you won’t find anyone who doesn’t want Alli to succeed at a new club, maybe as soon as January.

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Rafinha

Rated as one of the next big things out of Barcelona’s La Masia academy upon his 2011 debut, Rafinha was never elite, but he was good enough contribute to four league titles, five Copa del Reys and a Champions League.

He was also good enough that PSG were willing to try him out until 2022, before he stepped away from the big time by joining Al-Arabi in Qatar.

The younger brother of former Liverpool man Thiago Alcantara, Rafinha is still only 31, and if he didn’t enjoy his experience in the Middle East, there will surely be a European side keen enough to bring him back over.

Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting

While he’s best remembered in the UK for an underwhelming season at Stoke for the 2017/18 season, Choupo-Moting has since played for PSG and Bayern Munich and crafted a reputation as a manager’s dream.

Able to contribute off the bench or as a starter, the Cameroonian contributed to ten trophies with the two European giants and even had the best season of his career in 2022/23, making it a minor miracle that he’s still on the market.

The 35-year-old essentially ended Sadio Mane’s career as an elite level footballer by completely outplaying him at Bayern on his way to 17 goals in 30 games just two seasons ago.

Harry Kane and youngster Mathys Tel rendered him pointless last season so it’s no surprise that Bayern didn’t extend his contract. However, it is surprising that no one else has offered him a new one yet.

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