Benge's League Table: Lionel Messi, Mesut Ozil, Georginio Wijnaldum, ranking the best summer free agents
As the transfer window gets up and running, an intriguing summer of free agency looms on the horizon
By
James Benge
•
11 min read
Welcome to Benge's League Table. Every week James Benge will be ranking something, anything, in the Premier League (or in this case beyond) as he breaks down everything from the nerdiest tactics to the best kits, to the worst haircuts. This week, he assesses the most in demand free agents ahead of the summer.
In normal years football's free agency market is rather less wild than its equivalents in the NFL or NBA. The reasons for this are of course simple, player movement is altogether easier in a market with transfer fees and without salary caps and numerous other trade restrictions.
And yet the past year has been anything but normal, perhaps accelerating a trend Arsene Wenger predicted in 2017 where a growing number of star players are reaching the end of their contracts before making moves. The reasons for that are numerous enough to keep this column distracted from its true purpose – to rank stuff – but in general as salaries have risen at the biggest clubs so it has become more difficult for those players to move easily. When you earn hundreds of thousands a week there aren't many teams that can afford to keep you in the manner to which you are accustomed.
Of course that is not necessarily true of every player in this list, there are some who their current clubs would trip over themselves to garner with even greater riches, but certainly there are those among this group who would have been sold long ago if their employers had the chance. Particularly in an industry battling with the impact of COVID-19, there has always been a sense that the clock is ticking until the final days of some of these contracts.
The dawning of January at least brings some clarity over the status of many of these free agents, who are free to talk to clubs outside their current federation. For the likes of Mesut Ozil those conversations have already begun and they can earn themselves the sort of sizeable signing on bonus that might otherwise have gone to their current club as a transfer fee.
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There is talent aplenty in this list, including perhaps the greatest player of all time. There is quality aplenty to be snared without so much as a transfer fee this summer.
Honorable mentions: Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Roma), Folarin Balogun (Arsenal), David Luiz (Arsenal), Theo Walcott (Everton), Kenny Lala (Strasbourg), Elseid Hysaj (Napoli), Fabian Schar (Newcastle), Josh King (Bournemouth)
25. Thiago Silva (Chelsea)
In part Silva drops down this list because Chelsea are expected to take up their option to extend the 36-year-old's contract, little wonder when he has firmly established himself as the fulcrum of Frank Lampard's defense. Even now, however, his appearances must be carefully managed and that will inevitably become even more true into the 2021-22 season.
24. Rui Silva (Granada)
Though Granada have not been quite the defensive force in La Liga this season that they were this and Silva himself has not been quite as good as he was in that campaign. But the player from 2019-20 would still be a valuable addition to any squad, one of only five players to make more than 100 saves in the Spanish top flight last season and doing so whilst conceding fewer goals than the expected goals value of the shots he faced.
23. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (AC Milan)
There are many on this list where the number of years of peak performance you might get from them is up for debate. With Ibrahimovic it is surely not; for all that he has defied so many doubters by inspiring Milan's title charge early in the season he turns 40 this year, the end is around the corner. That does not mean that in his twilight years he might not be able to offer game winning moments and, as has been crucial on his return to Italy, sage leadership to a young squad.
22. Olivier Giroud (Chelsea)
That Juventus boss Andrea Pirlo declared an interest in Giroud last month says everything about the enduring respect for the ageing forward, who has spent his career in England largely proving his doubters wrong with so many fine performances. Even at 34 he is consistently weighing in with goals in crucial moments for club and country.
21. Demarai Gray (Leicester City)
Rather more of a gamble on talent than some of the more proven names on this list but the best of Gray in a Leicester and Birmingham City shirt suggests it would be a punt worth making. He will have only just turned 25 when he signs his new deal and suitors such as Marseille and Southampton are gambling that they'll see the consistency Gray couldn't find at the King Power Stadium.
20. Otavio (Porto)
At just 25 years of age, it is fair to assume that the Brazilian's best football lies ahead of him. Otavio is able to play across the flanks and in central areas and has extensive experience of Champions League football.
19. Arkadiusz Milik (Napoli)
Another rumor mill staple, the Polish international has been consistently linked with the likes of Tottenham, Atletico Madrid and Everton. For those clubs and others he profiles as the sort of elite 12th man that he has been at times with Napoli. Snaring such a player on a free transfer would be quite the coup.
18. Florian Thauvin (Marseille)
Still only 27, Thauvin has recovered from an ankle ligament injury in impressive fashion this season, scoring six and providing seven assists in 16 Ligue 1 games. AC Milan look to be leading the race for his services but Premier League suitors are said to include Aston Villa and Leicester City.
17. Moussa Marega (Porto)
Though he has struggled for goals this season, Marega is only two years removed from a campaign where he lit up the Champions League with six goals and three assists in nine games. Unlikely to establish himself at a top club there would still be plenty who would value a 29-year-old who provides plenty to go with the goals he scores.
16. Mesut Ozil (Arsenal)
If he were to move as a free agent come the end of the season – not necessarily guaranteed as he mulls his options over the coming days – the likelihood is Ozil would have gone over a year without playing a competitive fixture. At 32 it is fair to question whether he will be able to rediscover something even remotely like his best form. However suitors including Fenerbahce and DC United need only look back to that last run of games to know Ozil can play a valuable role in an effective team.
15. Edinson Cavani (Manchester United)
In limited game time with Manchester United this season, Cavani has proven his goal scoring instincts have not faded even as he nears his 34th birthday. Four in 14 is hardly the sort of tally he used to rack up with PSG but it ought to be enough to convince Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to activate the one year extension option they hold, not least because the goals he has scored have often been when they were most needed. His brace against Southampton, for instance, turned what could have been a cataclysmic defeat for the Red Devils into a momentum-building win.
14. Julian Draxler (Paris Saint-Germain)
After what feels like a lifetime of being linked with a move to Arsenal, it is remarkable to see that the Germany international is still only 27. A supporting role in the PSG attack has never quite allowed Draxler to display the full repertoire that was apparent early in his Schalke career. Moving to a club more willing to build around him might allow Draxler to rediscover that form.
13. Jerome Boateng (Bayern Munich)
Boateng has perhaps not been as consistently excellent as Sergio Ramos and certainly in his 30s the errors have emerged with greater frequency. However he remains an integral figure in Hansi Flick's European champions and if that is good enough for Bayern Munich it ought to be good enough for others.
12. Angel Di Maria (Paris Saint-Germain)
The intriguing question with players like Di Maria is at what age do the significant miles in the clock really begin to show. A regular with teams that have gone deep in Europe since the 2007-08 season, the 32-year-old winger has played nearly 750 competitive games for club and country. He wants to end his European career at PSG and a brief extension of his six year stay in the French capital ought to make sense for all sides.
11. Juan Bernat (Paris Saint-Germain)
There remains a strong possibility that Bernat and Di Maria will be retained at Paris Saint-Germain, in the case of Bernat in particular that ought to be a no-brainer even if the club may want to see how he recovers from his cruciate ligament injury before putting pen to paper. If he can get back to the level he reached beforehand then he would be a crucial component in Mauricio Pochettino's plans.
10. Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)
At the peak of his powers the Argentine absolutely belongs among the highest echelon of players on any list, let alone this one. However, injuries have taken a severe toll on the 32-year-old, who has also made no secret of his desire to move to Independiente when his City career reaches its end. Still if another club, like PSG for example, could tempt Aguero away they would be signing one of the best finishers on the market.
9. Eric Garcia (Manchester City)
Garcia is a rare commodity on the free agent market, a young center back leaving a top team. Before the end of last season he was a regular starter under Pep Guardiola, and had he signed a new deal Manchester City might not have opted to acquire Ruben Dias. However Garcia appears destined for Barcelona, who are ready to offer him a five year contract.
8. Lucas Vazquez (Real Madrid)
Only a few weeks ago Vazquez was man of the match for Real Madrid in their victory over Atletico Madrid largely because he did the little things exceptionally well. In a team packed with superstars the 29-year-old is the ideal supporting piece, though he could likely do more on another team. Of Real Madrid players only Luka Modric and Toni Kroos have created more chances in La Liga this season than Vazquez's 21.
7. Hakan Calhanoglu (AC Milan)
Serie A's player of the month for December has certainly timed his rise to the top of the Italian game shrewdly. Calhanoglu has long been linked with the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal albeit without any concrete interest materializing in the Turkish dead-ball wizard either during his time at Bayer Leverkusen or AC Milan. As a free signing, however, the soon-to-be 27-year-old could be an attractive depth option for an elite team.
6. Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)
The risk with signing a center back in his mid-30s is that there can be a vertiginous drop-off in quality as the game becomes too fast for them. However get it right, as Chelsea have with Thiago Silva, and you can secure yourself a veteran who brings the best out of those around him and makes an immediate impact. There is no reason to assume Ramos will not fit into that category if his threat to leave Real Madrid finally becomes a reality.
5. Memphis Depay (Lyon)
Another who caught Barcelona's eye last summer, the 26-year-old has hinted he might stay at Lyon next season but much will depend on what market he generates. He certainly merits consideration, a 26-year-old in prime form with 10 goals and four assists in 18 Ligue 1 games.
4. Georginio Wijnaldum (Liverpool)
The Dutch midfielder has won so many top trophies in a Liverpool shirt that it is perhaps understandable that he wants to see what alternatives are available to him. That does not necessarily mean that the path is closed off to a renewal at Anfield but the likes of Barcelona are primed to snare him away after failing to get their interest off the ground last summer.
3. Gianluigi Donnarumma (AC Milan)
When one thinks of free signings even the best are usually players who are either past or approaching the end of their prime. A player like Donnarumma, a 21-year-old with hundreds of games experience, does not often come on the market. Milan would love to keep a player who is already one of the world's best (and best paid) goalkeepers but many more clubs would be delighted to take him off their hands.
2. David Alaba (Bayern Munich)
One of the top center backs in Europe over recent season,s but it does not matter if you are well stocked in that spot because for years prior to that he was at the absolute pinnacle of his position as a left-back. Alternatively you could replicate the approach the Austrian national team has used on occasion and put their best player in midfield. Such is the value of Alaba. Like Messi his suitors sit in the upper echelon of European football with CBS Sports Insider Fabrizio Romano revealing that Real Madrid are one of five clubs looking to snare the 28-year-old when (and it is not if) he leaves Bayern Munich.
1. Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
No matter that he is turning 34 before the next season begins, any side in with a chance of signing one of the greatest footballers ever should move heaven and earth to sign him. This season has not brought quite the same remorseless weight of goals but it would be unwise to rush to judgements over whether Messi's best days are in the past, particularly when he is surrounded by team-mates far inferior than those he once played with.
In all likelihood this will be a fight between Barcelona, Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain but surely they will not be alone in trying to sign Messi.
