The Best Out of Contract Players this Summer!

It's all change with the Premier League transfer window this year as it opens and closes earlier than before.

The new dates are to ensure that all transfers are completed before the start of the 2018/19 season.

The Premier Leagu transfer window is now open. lt did so at midnight on 17th May.

It will then close at 5pm on 9th August - instead of 31st August, which it has been in previous years.

The reason for the changes to the transfer window are so clubs avoid disruption to their squads once the Premier League season has kicked off on 11th August.

That means domestic transfers can be completed now, but transfers from abroad can only be finalised once the FIFA Transfer Matching System (TMS) opens at midnight on 8th June.

In France, the transfer window will open on 9th June. In Italy and Germany it will be on 1st July and in Spain it will be on 2nd July.
The windows in those four leagues will close on 31st August.

The EFL transfer window is already open.
It opened on Monday, 7th May for domestic transfers. Clubs involved in play-offs can sign players now - but cannot play them until their season is over.

The EFL window closes at the same time as the Premier League, at 5pm on 9th August - five days after the new EFL season begins.

EFL clubs will still be able to sign players on loan until 31st August. They can also sign free agents up until the same date.


A look at the list of players nearing the ends of their contracts across Europe raises the possibility of many intriguing deals!

# Here I take a look at a selection of the players whose current deals are due to expire on 30th June 2018!

* Obviously some of these players may have already agreed new terms/contract with their current club or a deal is in place for them to join another Club, but as I write these players are 'officially' out of contract at the end of next month.

Emre Can - Age: 24 / Current Club: Liverpool / Position: Defensive Midfielder

Max Meyer - Age 22 / Current Club: Schalke / Position: Midfielder

Vicente Guaita - Age 31 / Current Club: Getafe / Position: Goalkeeper

Luke Shaw - Age 22 / Current Club: Manchester United / Position: Left-Back (Contract option of one further year)

Milan Badelj - Age 29 / Current Club: Fiorentina / Position: Defensive Midfielder

Pepe Reina - Age 35 / Current Club: Napoli / Position: Goalkeeper

Jack Wilshere - Age 26 / Current Club: Arsenal / Position: Midfielder

Sergio Canales - Age 29 / Current Club: Real Sociedad / Position: Attacking Midfielder

Joel Ward - Age 28 / Current Club: Crystal Palace / Position: Right-Back

Kwadwo Asamoah - Age 29 / Current Club: Juventus / Position: Full-Back/Midfielder

Arjen Robben - Age 34 / Current Club: Bayern Munich / Position: Winger

Yohan Cabaye - Age 32 / Current Club: Crystal Palace / Position: Midfielder

Andrea Masiello - Age 32 / Current Club: Atalanta / Position: Centre-Back

Tim Krul - Age 30 / Current Club: Brighton / Position: Goalkeeper

Franck Ribery - Age 35 / Current Club:Bayern Munich / Position: Midfielder

Gianluigi Buffon - Age 40 / Current Club: Juventus / Position: Goalkeeper

Marouane Fellaini - Age 30 / Current Club: Manchester United / Position: Central Midfielder

Stefan de Vrij - Age 26 / Current Club:Lazio / Position: Centre-Back

James Collins - Age 34 / Current Club: West Ham / Position: Centre-Back

Giorgio Chiellini - Age 33 / Current Club: Juventus / Position: Centre-Back/Left-Back

Joel Robles - Age 27 / Current Club: Everton / Position: Goalkeeper

Rafina - Age 32 Current Club: Bayern Munich / Position: Right-Back

Sung-yong Ki - Age 29 / Current Club: Swansea / Position: Defensive Midfielder

Thiago Motta - Age 35 / Current Club: Paris St-Germain / Position: Midfielder

Daley Blind - Age 28 / Current Club: Manchester United / Position: Centre-Back/Left-Back

Joao Moutinho - Age 31 / Current Club: As Monaco / Position: Midfielder

Stephen Ward - Age 32 / Current Club: Burnley / Position: Left-Back

Mario Balotelli - Age 27 / Current Club: Nice / Position: Forward

Boaz Myhill - Age 35 / Current Club: West Brom / Position: Goalkeeper

Andrea Masiello - Age 32 / Current Club: Atalanta / Position: Centre-Back

Yaya Touré - Age 35 / Current Club: Manchester City / Position: Central Midfielder

Andrea Barzagli - Age 36 / Current Club: Juventus / Position: Centre-Back

Michel Vorm - Age 34 / Current Club: Tottenham / Position: Goalkeeper

Davide Santon - Age 27 / Current Club: Inter Milan / Position: Left-Back

James Morrison - Age 31 / Current Club: West Brom / Position: Central Midfielder (Contract option of one further year)

Glen Johnson - Age 33 / Current Club: Stoke / Position: Right-Back

Stephan Lichtsteiner - Age 34 / Current Club: Juventus / Position: Right-Back/Right Wing-Back

Hatem Ben Arfa - Age 31 / Current Club: Paris Saint-Germain / Position: Attacking Midfielder

All the very latest football news across Europe!

It's all change with the Premier League transfer window this year as it opens and closes earlier than before.

The new dates are to ensure that all transfers are completed before the start of the 2018/19 season.

The Premier League has confirmed the transfer window will open at midnight on 17th May.

It will then close at 5pm on 9th August - instead of 31st August, which it has been in previous years.

The reason for the changes to the transfer window are so clubs avoid disruption to their squads once the Premier League season has kicked off on 11th August.

In fact, deals can be agreed before 17th May, however, the paperwork cannot be processed until the window has officially opened.

That means domestic transfers can be completed from midnight on 17th May, but transfers from abroad can only be finalised once the FIFA Transfer Matching System (TMS) opens at midnight on 8th June.

In France, the transfer window will open on 9th June. In Italy and Germany it will be on 1st July and in Spain it will be on 2nd July.
The windows in those four leagues will close on 31st August.

The EFL transfer window is already open.
It opened on Monday, 7th May for domestic transfers. Clubs involved in play-offs can sign players now - but cannot play them until their season is over.

The EFL window closes at the same time as the Premier League, at 5pm on 9th August - five days after the new EFL season begins.

EFL clubs will still be able to sign players on loan until 31st August. They can also sign free agents up until the same date.

Everton have confirmed manager Sam Allardyce has left the club with immediate effect -skysports.com

The sacking of Allardyce means Everton will have to pay Allardyce £6m in compensation, after less than a year in charge. Ex-Watford boss Marco Silva is favourite to take over at Goodison Park - Daily Express

David Moyes has left West Ham. Moyes met David Sullivan on Monday to discuss whether he should carry on in the job as West Ham manager. Following that meeting it was reported in a club statement that he was unlikely to stay, despite the fact that he was only appointed last November - skysports.com

Former Arsenal midfielder Mikel Arteta is very close to becoming the club's new manager, taking over from Arsene Wenger. Talks between the Gunners and the 36-year-old Spaniard have progressed well, with former team-mate Santi Cazorla lined up for a backroom role - Independent, Daily Mail and Daily Mirror

Ex-Gunners captain Patrick Vieira, 41, says he has been left disappointed at the club's "token gesture" after being contacted about the vacant managerial position at Arsenal - skysports.com

Mauricio Pochettino is ready to snub Chelsea's advances to stay loyal to Tottenham - Daily Star

Danny Rose hopes Tottenham will give boss Mauricio Pochettino "what he wants" this summer as the club look to move to the next level. Danny Rose hopes Tottenham will give boss Mauricio Pochettino "what he wants" this summer as the club look to move to the next level- skysports.com

England manager Gareth Southgate will name his 23-man squad for this summer's World Cup in Russia today!
Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart and Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere will not be included. Southgate is unable to call up Liverpool pair Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Joe Gomez along with Swansea defender Alfie Mawson, who have been ruled out through injury - BBC Sport

Southgate said that "19 or 20" of his squad had been decided upon, with Liverpool's Adam Lallana and Trent Alexander-Arnold, Newcastle's Jonjo Shelvey and Chelsea's Ruben Loftus-Cheek among those in contention for the fringe places - BBC Sport

Manchester City's Joe Hart is furious after believing West Ham manager David Moyes cost him a World Cup place - Daily Mirror

Cristiano Ronaldo is wanted by Manchester United, who have two plans to sign the Real Madrid forward - Diario Gol (Spanish daily sports newspaper)

The first includes a swap deal with Paul Pogba and a fee of £43m, while the second would see them launch a £142m bid to re-sign their former player - Diario Gol (Spanish daily sports newspaper)

Real Madrid's 28 year-old midfielder Toni Kroos is leaning towards a move to Manchester United.
He has been earmarked as a replacement for the retired Michael Carrick, with the Germany international said to be keen on a Premier League move - Don Balon (Spanish news outlet)

Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho will try to tempt AC Milan defender Leonardo Bonucci to Old Trafford this summer - Tuttosport (Italian sport newspaper published in Turin)

Paul Lambert's future as Stoke manager is still hanging in the balance, ahead of talks with the club hierarchy this week - Daily Telegraph

Championship side QPR will name ex-England boss Steve McClaren as their new manager to replace Ian Holloway, who was sacked last week - skysports.com

Eden Hazard insists he is happy at Chelsea but has challenged the club to match his ambition with new signings this summer. Asked what would persuade him to sign a contract extension with the club, Hazard said: "I'm waiting for new players next season. I want good players because I want to win next season the Premier League. That's why I'm taking my time. It's something big. I need to think about a lot of things. One thing I'm sure is that I'm happy here." - skysports.com

Clubs will have to part with £88m in order to sign highly-rated Napoli centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly, with the Daily Star reporting that Man Utd, Arsenal and Chelsea are interested.
The Senegalese international has been linked with a move away from the Serie A side over the last few windows - Daily Star

West Ham want Burnley and England keeper Tom Heaton to replace Joe Hart next term - The Sun

Manchester United are confident of signing 29-year-old Tottenham defender Toby Alderweireld and are willing to spend more than £40m on the Belgium international - London Evening Standard

Inter Milan will bid for Manchester City and Germany midfielder Ilkay Gundogan if they qualify for the Champions League - Corriere dello Sport in Italian - (Italian national sports newspaper based in Rome)

A bidding war could break out as a number of top clubs are eyeing Leicester defender Harry Maguire. The 25-year-old centre back is wanted by Manchester City, as well as a number of other top Premier League clubs, and will be subject of close attention when he plays for England at this summer's World Cup - Daily Mirror.

Newcastle will make on loan Slovakian goalkeeper Martin Dubravka, 29, their first summer signing from Sparta Prague - The Sun

Atletico Madrid will watch Kieran Tierney in the Scottish Cup final and join the race for the Celtic full-back. The 20-year-old has caught the eye with the Scottish Premiership champions, with Man Utd, Tottenham and Bournemouth also said to be interested - The Sun

Leicester and West Ham will make moves to sign Manchester City's Patrick Roberts, who has been on loan at Celtic since 2016, after the Scottish Cup final - Daily Express

Romelu Lukaku will be fit to start for Manchester United in Saturday's FA Cup final against Chelsea.

Arsenal have held talks with 26-year-old Nice midfielder Jean-Michael Seri, who is valued at £40m by the Ligue 1 club. However, Premier League rivals Chelsea are favourites to sign the Ivory Coast international - Daily Mirror

Everton, Newcastle and Huddersfield are among the clubs in pursuit of Schalke 04 and Kosovo international Donis Avdijaj - Daily Mail

Huddersfield's on-loan defender Terence Kongolo looks to have made his last appearance for the club. The Terriers signed the 24-year-old from Monaco in January on loan for the rest of the season. Town fans had been hoping Kongolo would extend his stay in England but he now looks set to return to France with his latest Instagram post - skysports.com

League One champions Wigan Athletic want to turn 23-year-old Leicester left-back Callum Elder's loan into a permanent deal. The Australian has one year left on his contract at the King Power Stadium - Daily Mail

Stephen Thompson is close to selling his majority shareholding in Dundee United to an American investor - Daily Express

Manchester United and Liverpool are in line to be invited to take part in a new 24-team Club World Cup which could earn the clubs more than £100m - The Times

Liverpool are to sign midfielder Isaac Christie-Davies, 20, on a free transfer after the Englishman was not awarded a new contract at Chelsea - ESPN

Diego Maradona has signed a three-year contract to join top-flight Belarusian club Dinamo Brest as their new chairman. Argentine legend Maradona, a former World Cup winner recognised as one of the all-time greats, last month stepped down as coach of United Arab Emirates second division club Al-Fujairah after they failed to gain automatic promotion to the first division - skysports.com

Babe of the Month - Danish Ladies Footballer Pernille Harder

Pernille Mosegaard Harder was born 15th November 1992 in Ikast, Denmark and is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a striker for VfL Wolfsburg as well as for the Danish national team.

Pernille started playing football when she was five or years old with the boys in her birth city of Ikast. Her Mum and Dad and sister both played so they sent her to play soccer and she really loved it. Pernille says that "they didn't have a girls team until she was 11 years old, but I played and practised with boys in high school and that was a really important part of my development."

Pernille has always been a Manchester United fan, and says that David Beckham was her footballing inspiration.

Harder played for Team Viborg between 2007 and 2010 and then for IK Skovbakken from 2010 in her country's Elitedivisionen, before signing for Linköpings in June 2012.

She made her international debut aged 16 in 2009, scoring a hat-trick in Denmark's 15-0 win over Georgia.

Harder chose Linköpings, another Swedish club for her next destination because she wanted a new challenge, but also because she wanted to remain in Scandinavia. In September 2013 she scored all four goals in Linköpings' 4–1 win at relegation-bound Sunnanå SK.

In the 2015 Damallsvenskan season Harder scored 17 goals in 22 appearances for Linköping, winning a series of national awards including Årets Anfallare (English: Forward of the Year) and Årets Allsvenska Spelare (English: League Player of the Year). At the annual awards gala she shared the stage with male winner Zlatan Ibrahimović (below) and was described as "hyper-talented" and "world class" by Swedish national coach Pia Sundhage. Harder was also voted Danish Football Player of the Year in 2015.

Harder enjoyed further success in the 2016 Damallsvenskan season, retaining the League Player of the Year award and helping Linköping win the Damallsvenskan title.

By now a transfer target for the biggest clubs in women's football, it would have been easy for Harder to stay in Sweden. She had scored 70 goals in 87 appearances for Linköpings, twice winning the Swedish cup and winning the league in 2016 as top scorer with 24 goals in 22 games.

 

However Harder's agent announced in November 2016 that she would be leaving Linköping for a new challenge. In December 2016, it was announced that Harder had signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with VfL Wolfsburg running from January 2017.

The lure of the Bundesliga was too strong. Pernille said: “I always wanted to go to Germany one day. I guess it’s because the German league is the strongest league in Europe and possibly the world. All the games are hard. We’re one of the best teams in the world right now, with a lot of good players, and that’s why I always wanted to come here."

"It’s a little more physical, all teams are fit and physically strong. The way teams defend in the Bundesliga compared to Swedish league is very different. In Sweden we’re standing in zones and defending the space behind us. In Germany it’s go forward and go 100%. It’s very different for me when I have the ball and it’s given me a new way of thinking and has developed my game."

In her first season in Germany Wolfsburg pipped the holders, Bayern Munich, to the Bundesliga crown as the team secured the league and cup double.

Last Sunday Wolfsburg Ladies beat Chelsea Ladies 2-0 in their Women's Champions League semi-final second leg to win 5-1 on aggregate and reach the final, where they will face Lyon at the Valeriy Lobanovskiy Dynamo Stadium in Kiev on 24th May. Harder scored the opening goal in Wolfsburg's 2-0 win.

This season, with her team two points clear of second-placed Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga Women's League, with the German Cup Final (DFB-Pokal) on the 19th May, Harder and her team-mates are targeting the treble!

On her International career: At the inaugural 2008 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in New Zealand, Harder was part of the Denmark team who won their group before losing 4–0 to eventual champions North Korea in the quarter-final. Still 16 years old, she contributed a hat-trick to a crushing 15–0 win over Georgia in her senior international debut in October 2009, and she has continued to score regularly for the Danish team ever since.

Harder scored further hat-tricks against Austria and Armenia in 2011 and Russia in 2013. She was named in national coach Kenneth Heiner-Møller's Denmark squad for UEFA Women's Euro 2013. With nine goals she had been the team's top goalscorer in qualifying.

In October 2013, Harder won her 50th cap for Denmark in a 1–1 draw with Serbia. She scored Denmark's goal in the match. In March 2016, Harder was appointed captain of the national team.

In 2017, she was named in national coach Nils Nielsen's Denmark squad for the UEFA Women's Euro 2017. She captained the team to the final and scored a goal in Denmark's 4–2 defeat by hosts the Netherlands. She was voted runner-up to Lieke Martens in the UEFA Women's Player of the Year Award for 2016–17.

Pernille Harder is one of the five nominees for the BBC Women's Footballer of the Year 2018 award.
On being nominated she said: "It's an honour. A nomination like this is one of the things you work really hard for your whole career, so I'm really happy to be nominated and 2017 was a really good year for me."

Away from football, Pernille enjoys playing golf.

You can follow Pernille on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook