The 15 free agents with the highest market value right now ft De Gea and Lingard | OneFootball

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The summer transfer window is open, with speculation about arrivals and departures now constant at every club.

There has already been a flurry of activity, with Declan Rice’s £105 million move to Arsenal currently the most expensive signing so far.

But while some players could be on the move for significant fees, others could move for absolutely nothing.

At the end of every season, there is the inevitable rise in the number of free agents, with players leaving clubs after their contracts end.

Some will get snapped up quickly by another team, but others will spend weeks or maybe months looking for their next opportunity.

So, with there being so many players without a club, who are some of the most high-profile free agents on the market right now?

Using football website Transfermarkt, we have assembled a list of 15 players, picking out those with the highest market value.

Three stars miss out

Before jumping into the top 15 though, we ought to mention Eden Hazard, Sergio Ramos, and Alexis Sanchez.

All three are former stars who are currently free agents, but they do not make the list because their market value is lower than other players.

Former Arsenal attacker Sanchez is valued at just €4 million. The Chilean was released by Marseille and has been linked with a move to Premier League side, Nottingham Forest.

Ramos, having been one of the best defenders in modern football, is now without a club at 37 after being released by Paris Saint-Germain.

The Spaniard, valued at €4.5 million, had reportedly been close to signing for Inter Miami, but nothing has been announced as of yet.

Hazard, meanwhile, reportedly rejected a move to join Miami, instead wanting to continue his career in Europe.

Real Madrid and the Belgium winger agreed to a mutual termination of his contract earlier this year, with Hazard struggling with injuries and form after making the switch from Chelsea.

Having joined Los Blancos for €100 million, today, Transfermarkt estimates his market value to be just €5 million.

Given the profile of the three men, we just had to mention them. They would all undoubtedly still bring something to a team.

But now, here are the 15 free agents who are valued highest in today's market.

The 15 free agents with the highest market values

15 Miha Zajc - €6 million

Released from: Fenerbahce

Zajc joined Fenerbahce in 2019 from Empoli, helping them win the Turkish Cup during the 2022/23 season.

A midfielder by trade, the 29-year-old is capable of scoring a screamer now and then, and has won 39 caps for the Slovenian national team.

14 Lucas Moura - €6 million

Released from: Tottenham Hotspur

The Brazilian winger joined Spurs in 2018 and went on to make 221 appearances for the north London club.

His finest moment in a Tottenham shirt was undoubtedly the hat-trick he scored against Ajax in the Champions League semi-final back in 2019.

But the Brazilian was released by Spurs after a poor final season, getting sent off against Everton and gifting Liverpool a late winner at Anfield.

There had been reports that Crystal Palace were keeping an eye on Lucas’ situation back in June, but they have not followed up on that interest yet.

13 Roberto Pereyra - €6 million

Released from: Udinese

Watford fans will remember Pereyra well. The Argentine joined the Hornets from Juventus in 2016 and chipped in with 29 goal contributions in 115 appearances.

In 2020, he returned to Italy, signing for Udinese.

But after a strong 2022/23 season where the 32-year-old scored five times and created seven more goals, he was released after failing to agree a new deal.

Pereyra could remain in Italy, with Football Italia writing that Torino are interested in the player earlier this month.

12 Manuel Lanzini - €6 million

Released from: West Ham

After joining from United Arab Emirates side Al Jazira in 2015, Lanzini would go on to make 226 appearances for the Hammers in all competitions, scoring 32 goals along the way.

He ended his time in east London on a high, helping his side lift the Europa Conference League at the end of last season.

If anybody needs reminding of what the 30-year-old is capable of, here’s his stunning goal against Tottenham from a few years ago…

11 Alfredo Morelos - €6 million

Released from: Rangers

Colombian forward Morelos became a fan-favourite while at the Ibrox.

His achievements with the Scottish side include a league title in the 2020/21 campaign and a Scottish Cup the following year.

But despite scoring 124 goals for the club, Rangers confirmed that Morelos would be leaving at the end of the 2022/23 season.

admitted that while he wanted to stay in Europe, nothing was close to being agreed.

10 James Rodríguez - €6 million

Released from: Olympiacos

Few would have predicted that Rodriguez would be a free agent nine years after the 2014 World Cup. His performances at that tournament were just so good.

But the 32-year-old has been without a club since April when his contract was torn up by Olympiacos.

His hiatus from football looks to be coming to an end soon though, with the midfielder reportedly set to join Brazilian side Sao Paulo.

9 Ross Barkley - €6 million

Released from: Nice

Barkley is no stranger to being a free agent, leaving Chelsea in the summer of 2022 by mutual consent.

The 29-year-old went on to sign for French club Nice in September of that year, but he had a poor season, scoring just four goals and assisting two more as his side finished 9th in Ligue 1.

His contract was not renewed at the end of the season, and although he was linked with a move to Middlesbrough last month, he remains without a team for now.

8 Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain - €7 million

Released from: Liverpool

During his time at Arsenal, Arsene Wenger once said that Oxlade-Chamberlain “has it all.”

But things would not work out after he made the switch to Liverpool in 2017, with the Englishman picking up a serious knee injury in 2018 which wrecked his Anfield career early on.

The midfielder made just 146 appearances for the Reds during his six-year stay, but that has not deterred other clubs from looking to sign him.

A report from the Mirror has stated that Brentford are ready to give him a one-year deal, while Besiktas are also keeping tabs on him.

Additionally, he is being targeted by the Saudi Pro League.

7 Ainsley Maitland-Niles - €8 million

Released from: Arsenal

Maitland-Niles was released this summer when his contract expired, having spent the previous year on loan at Southampton.

The Hale End academy graduate had been at the club for 19 years but now finds himself looking for his next opportunity after 132 appearances for the Gunners.

He had been linked with a move to Everton, although that is now reportedly “unlikely.”

6 Jesse Lingard - €8 million

Released from: Nottingham Forest

Expectations were high when Lingard arrived at Forest, especially as he was offered a significant wage worth £200,000 a week.

But he failed to excel at the City Ground and finished the season without a goal or an assist in the Premier League.

He had been training with MLS side Inter Miami over the summer, and Sky Sports reported at the start of July that he was considering offers from three clubs in Saudi Arabia.

5 Tom Davies - €9 million

Released from: Everton

Davies had been at Everton since he was 11 years old and made his debut at 17 against Southampton in 2016.

He went on to make 179 appearances for the Toffees but turned down a new deal at Goodison Park in search of regular first-team football.

With the 2023/24 campaign just around the corner though, he is yet to find a team which will offer him that opportunity.

4 Adama Traoré - €10 million

Released from: Wolverhampton Wanderers

Traore joined Wolves from Middlesbrough and his pace would make him a nightmare for opposition defences.

HIs contract expired at the end of last season, but Wolves’ sporting director Matt Hobbs did not rule out a new deal back in June.

AC Milan were also reportedly considering a move for the 27-year-old last month.

3 Yerry Mina - €10 million

Released from: Everton

The Colombian defender said goodbye to Goodison Park this summer after five years and 99 appearances.

Despite The Sun writing that Fulham were interested in the 28-year-old, he is still presently without a club.

In an interview with AS at the start of the month, Mina said that he was feeling calm about his future, with options in France on the table for him.

2 David de Gea - €13 million

Released from: Manchester United

He is arguably the biggest name on this list, but not the man with the highest market value.

De Gea confirmed his United departure earlier this month, 12 years after signing for the Red Devils from Atletico Madrid.

His 545 appearances and 190 clean sheets are both United records for a goalkeeper, and his trophy cabinet includes a Premier League, FA Cup and Europa League too.

Now, he is reportedly a target for Bayern Munich, with Manuel Neuer now 37 years old and Yann Sommer subject to interest from Inter Milan.

1 Daichi Kamada - €27 million

Released from: Eintracht Frankfurt

Kamada is the most expensive player on this list by quite some way, worth more than double what De Gea is valued at in today’s market.

He scored 40 goals and created 33 more for Frankfurt after joining in 2017, but the club confirmed in April that he would be leaving at the end of the 2022/23 campaign.

AC Milan had a verbal agreement to sign the midfielder, but Fabrizio Romano has since reported that the deal collapsed after the Italian side signed Samuel Chukwueze.