We’re already two days into January, and the transfer window is well and truly open. While the big guns of the Premier League are getting ready to spend and the Saudi Pro League is bound to flex its muscles, money isn’t gushing around everywhere, so there will be plenty of clubs looking to arrange loan deals or, even better, find a top-class free agent.
When we look around at the best free agent options, there’s a curious coincidence that two of our chosen three are not long departed from Manchester United, and the third is a World Cup winner who starred, not so long ago, for this year’s title hopefuls, Arsenal.
Ironically, the Premier League 2024 betting odds have long since written off the Red Devils’ title chances and the current crop of Manchester United players need a refresh.
A trip to Nottingham to face Nuno’s Forest dealt another blow in a series of poor Premier League 2024 news as the Red Devils went down 2-1, a result which left Erik Ten Hag’s team down in seventh and a full nine points adrift of the top four places.
And one of the United players who has been under the microscope is keeper Andre Onana, who play out with great confidence but has been prone to drop a clanger.
Onana’s predecessor may well be looking for a job.
David De Gea
Spanish stopper De Gea won the Premier League Golden Glove in 2023, but he was never so good with his feet and the Manchester United hierarchy let him go.
The latest reports in the UK press suggest he may be set to return, with Newcastle United looking for a replacement for their injured Number One, Nick Pope. De Gea represented Manchester United with distinction over 12 seasons at the Theatre of Dreams, but the Premier League obsession with goalkeepers who can play out from the back saw him depart.
Pope has dislocated his shoulder, and Newcastle’s deputy keeper, Martin Dubravka, has been under some pressure, so a move for 33-year-old De Gea would make sense. He was on a reported £375,000 a week at Old Trafford, and, while that is a small change for the Magpies’ Saudi owners, he would need to take a wage cut to fit in with the club’s current financial structure.
In the meantime, De Gea has been working on his e-sports business, Rebels Gaming, and spending time with friends and his new wife, the Spanish singer and actress Edurne, so he might take some persuading!
Jesse Lingard
De Gea’s former Manchester mate Lingard is kicking his heels after leaving Nottingham Forest, where he made 17 appearances under Steve Cooper, in the summer. With 32 caps for England, the attacking midfielder has enjoyed a golden career, and at 31 years of age, he is still in his prime.
He has been training with West Ham United and Al-Ettifaq, and he had a one-month contract with the Saudi Pro League side, but it was not renewed as the club reached its maximum allowance of eight oversees players.
Lingard has recently posted a quote from UK business guru Steven Bartlett on his social media, which reads: “You spent most of 2023 in survival mode. Let 2024 be spent in revival mode. It’s possible to thrive in the process of getting where you want to be.”
I think it’s safe to say that Lingard wants a club.
Shkodran Mustafi
Former Arsenal centre back Mustafi was a World Cup winner with Germany in 2014 and he was a key part of Arsenal’s defence in the post Arsene Wenger period. He left the Emirates in 2021 as part of the Mikel Arteta revolution, and Mustafi joined Schalke, but after later moving to Levante, he left the Spanish Segunda Division side last summer and is looking for another challenge.
Now 31 years of age, the centre-back played 151 times for the Gunners, winning two FA Cups, and he came close to joining Roma in October, but the move didn’t happen. He’s a cultured ball-playing defender who can also operate in a defensive midfield role, and with 20 caps for Germany, he brings a high pedigree.
Could Mustafi still get a job in the Premier League? Well, this SBOTOP writer, having seen his beloved Burnley struggle to compete this season, would say a resounding ‘yes’. Vincent Kompany’s young Clarets play some exciting football, but they are defensively inconsistent and woefully short of experience, and Mustafi would surely be a low-risk option.
Let’s see, but I dare say at least two out of these three players will be back on the grass by the end of January.
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