The summer of 2026 threw up one of the richest free-agent pools in recent memory, and yet two of the most decorated players from the Bundesliga are still sitting on the shelf in mid-August without a club.
Leon Goretzka and Raphael Guerreiro both departed Bayern Munich without a penny in transfer fees, and the Premier League, with its deep pockets and appetite for proven European talent, has been interested in both men for months.
The window is still open. The top Bundesliga free agents are there for the taking, and any club that moves quickly could land serious quality for nothing but wages.
Leon Goretzka
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Eight years. Seven Bundesliga titles. A Champions League. A Club World Cup. Goretzka built the kind of CV at the Allianz Arena that most midfielders spend their entire careers chasing, and yet here he is in August, without a club since 1 July 2026, with Transfermarkt valuing him at €12 million.
Goretzka himself said: “Maybe it’s my last chance to go abroad. I really want to play truly competitive football again.” That is not the language of a player winding down.
Last season he posted a 93.2% pass accuracy in the Bundesliga, the second-best among central midfielders in the division, operating as a deeper pivot in Vincent Kompany’s favoured 4-2-3-1 setup.
The engine has shifted gears, not stalled. Only Kim Min-Jae made more interceptions than Goretzka among Bayern players, and only three teammates won possession more often than him throughout the campaign.
BILD journalist Christian Falk confirmed that Arsenal made an approach, as did Atlético Madrid and Tottenham, and that from what he had heard out of the Bayern dressing room, the Premier League held genuine appeal for the player.
His free status is particularly attractive for Arsenal given their need to manage Premier League sustainability thresholds after heavy spending elsewhere, though his reported wage demands of around £300,000 a week remain the one genuine sticking point.
Barcelona are the latest club linked, which adds urgency. Any Premier League side that have been sitting on their hands waiting for his price to drop should understand that this market is competitive and Goretzka will not wait indefinitely.
Raphael Guerreiro
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Guerreiro is the less straightforward case, but also the more intriguing one for a manager who values tactical flexibility above almost everything else.
Bayern confirmed in March that his contract, expiring at the end of the season, would not be renewed, bringing an amicable three-year spell in Munich to a close. He ended his time at the club with 14 goals and eight assists across 95 appearances, contributing six goals and two assists in 25 games during the 2025/26 season alone.
The former Portugal international notched six goals and three assists in combined Bundesliga and Champions League appearances for Bayern last season and is even more valuable given he can play at both left back and central midfield.
That kind of positional range rarely comes for free. Analysts have noted his versatility across the season, featuring as a right back, central midfielder, and attacking midfielder in addition to his natural position, and Thomas Tuchel, who managed him at Dortmund, previously described him as a smart player with masterful link-up play.
Manchester United were among the clubs credited with an interest following Bayern’s confirmation of his departure, and for good reason.
A side looking to add cover and creativity across multiple positions, without spending a fee, could do considerably worse than a 65-cap Portuguese international who has won the Bundesliga three times. His reported salary at Bayern of over €4 million per year could complicate talks for some clubs, but the absence of a transfer fee changes the mathematics considerably.
Guerreiro has been linked with Bayer Leverkusen or tipped to play in Portugal for the first time, so the window for a Premier League club to step in and make a compelling offer is genuinely closing.
The top Bundesliga free agents rarely stay unattached deep into August without good reason. In both these cases, the reason is wages, not quality. Any club that can meet their demands gets a bargain.