Several players across European top leagues are facing the threat of their contracts expiring this summer. Considering that we’ve put together a potential free agent starting XI in a 4-3-3.
Available dominance in the middle of the pitch
Weston McKennie
We begin our look at our three midfielders, by exploring if McKennie is going to be leaving the Allianz Stadium before his contract expires at the end of June.
The vastly experienced central midfielder has participated in 22 matches across the 2025/26 campaign for Juventus. So a potential move away from Italy would be a surprising one.
McKennie’s appearance-based trend was apparent last season, with 32 appearances in Serie A coupled with six attacking returns (G2, A4). Not to forget nine participations across the Champions League in that specific campaign.
Similar to Christensen, despite a plethora of interest from clubs vying for his signature earlier this season, the most recent rumour saw fellow Serie A outfit Roma expressing an apparent interest.
There is still certainly time for Juventus to take McKennie off the free agent market, considering he looks like he is firmly part of manager Luciano Spalletti’s long-term plans.
Leon Goretzka
One of the biggest household names in football that potentially could be available to clubs either in the January transfer window or later this summer is Bayern Munich’s Goretzka.
The former Champions League and multiple Bundesliga title-winner commands the centre of the pitch whenever he graces the pitch. Goretzka is another player in our free agent XI who hasn’t fallen out of favour with his manager after participating in over 90% of Bayern’s matches this season.
Having spent the last seven and a half years playing against the silverware-laid backdrop of the Allianz Arena, admittedly, Goretzka still has competition to face. Joshua Kimmich and Aleksandar Pavlovic are the other central options available to manager Vincent Kompany.
The German international is certainly not without suitors, with Atlético Madrid, Napoli, Galatasaray and Juventus all having been noted with interest as recently as just over a week ago.
Julian Brandt
A move to the Premier League could be on the cards for Brandt, with high-flying Champions League-chasing Aston Villa being linked several times to the experienced German attacking midfielder.
20 appearances across the Bundesliga, 2025/26 Champions League phase and DFB-Pokal have clearly captured the attention of manager Unai Emery and Co at Villa Park.
However, the recent addition of Brazilian wonderkid Alysson from Grêmio for just over £8.5million might make it seem that the Villans don’t need any further attacking talent.
That might not be the case with Villa still fighting on several fronts, including being right in the mix of lifting their first-ever Premier League title. So, the potential addition of Brandt is unlikely to be rejected if offered to Villa.
Without trying to second-guess what Brandt is currently thinking concerning a possible move away from Borussia Dortmund, it’s worth noting that the attacker has never played a minute of Premier League football in his career.
Luxury of finding the back of the net is not far away
Robert Lewandowski
If a team is in need of a proven goal-scorer who has netted over 600 career goals, as early as the January transfer window, all they need to do is turn to Lewandowski.
One of those prospective options be AC Milan, who might be asking themselves that all-important internal question, could Lewandowski be their solution to lifting a first Scudetto shield since the 2021/22 campaign.
With defending LaLiga champions Barcelona firing on all cylinders in the forward department, Poland’s all-time record scorer still hasn’t struggled to get his fair amount of minutes on the pitch throughout the 2025/26 campaign.
However, a new deal has yet to be put on the table for Lewandowski and his negotiating team to consider. A move to Major League Soccer (MLS) has been rumoured in the media as Lewandowski’s next destination, with Chicago Fire and Inter Miami apparently heading the chase for the prolific 37-year-old marksman.
If MLS is his next destination of choice with the latter, he could potentially become teammates with former Barcelona Hall of Famers, Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets and Luis Suárez.
Serge Gnarby
Another attacking asset who could be on the move is Bayern Munich’s Gnarby, who has attracted the attention of Liverpool and Juventus across recent months.
With the ability to play across the entirety of the front line, it’s not at all surprising that the German international is reportedly being followed by two footballing giants.
With sensational Swedish striker Alexander Isak out for the foreseeable future with a broken leg, a move to the defending Premier League champions could be on the agenda.
A bid of around £15million could be enough to tempt Bayern into receiving a half-decent transfer fee instead of losing Gnabry for free in the summer.
Sadly, not as consistent in front of goal as his 20-goal contributions (G14, A6) in 2022/23, he still knows how to find the back of the net.
Dušan Vlahović
If Lewandowski becomes unavailable, a top European team definitely wouldn’t go wrong with picking up Vlahović as a free agent this summer.
Following the signing of Jonathan David on a free transfer from Lille last summer, the Serbian international has lost his starting berth as Juventus’ first-choice striker.
Manager Luciano Spalletti, on paper, seemingly cannot decide who to turn to when it comes to scoring his side’s goals, with Vlahović and David both starting seven Serie A matches this season. With Kenan Yildiz and Leipzig loanee Loïs Openda also able to lead the attacking line for the Bianconeri, a contract extension might not be on the club’s mind.
Considering that he is yet to put pen to paper on a new deal, with only six months left to do so, some might think that Vlahović is already looking ahead to the impending future.
