‘I’ve had offers’ – Adrian Mariappa speaks about life after being released by Bristol City | OneFootball

Experienced defender Adrian Mariappa is without a club following his release from Bristol City this summer and has identified a trend in the market that has led to many players like him remaining unattached.

The 34-year-old had his say talking on the #CounterAttackPodcast.

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He said: “There’s loads of factors to it (being a free agent), age plays a big factor into it, a lot of clubs are looking into resale value etc. The Championship is very young, getting even younger as well.

“I don’t think anyone could have foreseen how it would pan out, but yeah you’ve got to try and adjust and deal with it the best you can.

“I’ve had offers but I want to play at the best level I can.”

Mariappa was in a similar situation this time last year and signed for the Robins in November. He turned out 27 times in mostly the second half of the season, showing that he can still handle a busy schedule despite his age.

In years gone by the 51-time Jamaica international will not have had as much trouble finding a suitor but with the trend of strapped for cash Championship clubs looking to sign younger players with higher potential values to them, the 34-year-old may have to dip into League One to find regular first team action.

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The Verdict

Evidently Mariappa is not going to jump at the first opportunity, it has to be the right one for him, and having played the waiting game successfully last season he will be confident that he can effectively acclimatise to league football quickly once again.

With 168 Premier League appearances to his name Mariappa should be an attractive proposition for especially a League One club who are in need of some defensive solidity. He is unlikely to get the security of anything more than a deal until the end of the season which is not a nice place to be, hopefully Mariappa has used the time away from the game he has had to put some plans in place for after his playing c.