Manchester City are known to be big spenders. They have lived up to that reputation with the signings of Leroy Sane, Gabriel Jesus and a few others for big money. Manchester United are set to keep up, if not overtake City with the arrival of Pogba for a world record £100m transfer fee. But it is not always the £50m players that bring value to a club. Free transfers play a huge role in shaping a football team.
The arrival of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Sofiane Feghouli and Joel Matip to the Premier League on free transfers is a testament to that fact. That said, here is a list of the 11 best free transfers of the English Premier League, lining up in a 3-4-3 formation.
Goalkeeper
Brad Friedel
Brad Friedel joined Blackburn in the summer of 2000 when Graeme Souness was in charge. Regarded as one of the finest keepers in the Premier League, the American went on to have the best spell of his career at Ewood Park.
Friedel made over 300 appearances for the Rovers in 8 years and was a part of the team that won promotion back into the Premier League in his first season. He was named Blackburn’s Player of the Year in the 2002/03 season after a string of fine performances.
Friedel became the second goalkeeper in EPL history to score from open play after he netted against Charlton. Friedel also holds the record for most consecutive appearances in the league with 310. In 2008, the American called time on his Blackburn career and moved to Aston Villa.
Defenders
Centre Back: Sol Campbell
Sol Campbell is considered to be the best free transfer in the history of the Premier League. Campbell made the move from Spurs to North London rivals Arsenal in 2001 in one of the most controversial transfers in Premier League history. One of Arsenal’s finest defenders, Campbell made 195 appearances for the Gunners, winning 2 league titles and 3 FA Cups.
He was a major part of the team known as the “Invincibles” which went an entire Premier League campaign undefeated. He also scored in Arsenal’s defeat to Barcelona in the 2006 UCL final.
The Englishman decided not to extend his contract at Arsenal and moved to Portsmouth in 2006 where he plied his trade for 3 seasons, following which he signed for Notts County in 2009. He then made a return to Arsenal and made a further 11 appearances before joining Newcastle in 2010.
Right Back: Markus Babbel
Markus Babbel arrived at Anfield in 2000 after his contract had expired at Bayern. Best known for his rampaging runs down the right flank, Babbel was a part of the treble winning side in his first season at the club. He was then out for a year after contracting Guillain-Barre syndrome, an immune weakness. After making just 4 further appearances for the Reds in the next 3 years, Babbel was loaned out to Blackburn in 2003.
Enjoying some success at the international level as well, Babbel made more than 50 appearances for Germany and was an integral part of the Euro 96 winning team.
Left Back: Steve Staunton
Steve Staunton was initially signed by Aston Villa for a fee from Liverpool. After spending 7 successful seasons at Villa Park, Staunton moved back to Liverpool on a free transfer when joint managers Roy Evans and Gerard Houllier decided to pick him up.
He made 44 league appearances in 2 seasons for the Merseyside club and then bizarrely moved to Villa again on a free transfer where he played for a further 3 seasons.
Midfielders
Centre Midfield: Michael Ballack
Another player who left Bayern for free, the German international joined Chelsea in 2006. This was the first time Ballack was playing outside Germany, but that did not affect his performances in the least. In 4 excellent seasons at the club, Ballack added a number of trophies to his already glistening trophy cabinet. These included the Premier League, 3 FA Cups and a League Cup. To go with the 5 titles, Ballack also got a UCL runners-up medal.
Ballack, considered to be one of the finest midfielders in the game, made over 100 appearances for the club before heading back to Germany when he signed for Bayer Leverkusen in 2010.
Holding Midfielder: Gareth Barry
Gareth Barry left Manchester Ciy in 2013 at the age of 33 to join Everton on a season-long loan which then turned into a permanent deal a year later. In a youthful side containing Stones, Barkley, Lukaku, Deulefeu and Besic, Barry was expected to have limited playing time and maybe last for just a season. 2 years down the line though, at the age of 35, he has made over 100 appearances for the club and was named Everton’s Player of the Year. One of the most established defensive midfielders in the league, Barry has been a mainstay in the Everton line-up.
Attacking Midfielder: Jay Jay Okocha
Jay Jay Okocha, a Bolton legend, lit up the Premier League for 4 seasons with his out of the world skills and flamboyant goals. The man who was “so good he had to be named twice,” made 124 league appearances in 4 years at the club. The Nigerian, who joined Bolton from PSG in 2002 is considered one of the greatest African players of all time. Okocha was responsible for Bolton staving off relegation and also for establishing them as a mid-table team.
Manager, Sam Allardyce was full of praise for the Nigerian star. “His abilities as a footballer are outstanding,” said Sam. “I’ve seen many players display great skills during training but I’ve never seen anybody produce them like that on match day. Whenever you’re feeling miserable, all you have to do is to watch him come in with a great big smile and that really helps to lift up everybody.”
Central Midfielder: Gary Mcallister
Mcallister joined the Reds from Coventry in 2000. Aged 35, most people were surprised at manager Gerard Houllier’s decision, but it did not take long for the Scot to show just what he brought to the table. The Scotsman helped Liverpool to a treble which included the FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup and has been described by Houllier himself as his most inspirational signing ever.
Mcallister’s finest moment was arguably his 40-yard screamer in the dying seconds against Everton to secure victory in the Merseyside derby.
Forwards
Striker: Jurgen Klinsmann
Jurgen Klinsmann was already a Tottenham hero after his first spell at the club due to his heroics in the 94/95 season. After cancelling his Sampdoria contract, the German returned to White Hart Lane on a free transfer in January of 1998 in order to help Spurs stave off relegation.
In Tottenham’s final 9 games of the season, Klinsmann scored 8 goals including 4 in a single game against Wimbledon. After helping Spurs remain in the Premier League, Klinsmann played the last match of his career against Southampton on the final day of the season before retiring and moving to the United States.
Striker: Gianluca Vialli
Vialli arrived at Stamford Bridge from Juventus in the summer of 1996 on the back of a Champions League victory. The Italian had tremendous success at the Bridge, firstly as a player and then as a manager. In his first season, Vialli scored 11 times and won the FA Cup. He followed this with 19 goals in his second season.
Taking the reins from manager Gullit, the Italian, now in a player-manager role went on to win the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup before leading Chelsea to a third-place finish in the Premier League the following year.
Like Gullit and Zola, the Italian was a cult hero at Stamford Bridge.
Striker: Demba Ba
After Stoke City turned down Demba Ba citing fitness concerns, he was quickly snapped up by Newcastle in 2011. The Senegalese striker managed an impressive 29 goals in just 53 appearances for the club in a season and a half. In March 2012, Ba was voted as the best signing of the 2011/12 season by the managers.
Ba was then released to Chelsea after they triggered his £7m release clause in 2013.
Formation: 3-4-3
