All the top flight free agents this summer including some familiar faces to Stoke City
05:00, 26 May 2026
Dan Neil, Josh Laurent and Matt Targett are coming to the end of their contracts at Sunderland, Burnley and Newcastle respectively.
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Dan Neil, Josh Laurent and Matt Targett are coming to the end of their contracts at Sunderland, Burnley and Newcastle respectively.(Image: Getty)
There are a lot of names to immediately cross out as Championship recruitment departments scour the list of soon-to-be Premier League free agents.
Bournemouth centre-half Marcos Senesi has been linked with Tottenham and Liverpool, for instance, while Brentford left-back Rico Henry and midfielder Mathias Jensen have been key men in an impressive season.
Right-back Joel Veltman has been a regular at Brighton, like midfielder Daichi Kamada at Crystal Palace, left-back Vitalii Mykolenko at Everton, Ibrahima Konaté at Liverpool or Fabian Schär at Newcastle United. Good luck trying to persuade Bernardo Silva or John Stones to dip into the Championship as they leave Manchester City, Kieran Trippier as he leaves Newcastle or Fulham duo Harry Wilson and Raul Jimenez.
What is left is not just World Cup-bound former Stoke goalkeeper Angus Gunn, whose contract is running down at Nottingham Forest. Former Stoke captain Josh Laurent is a free agent too after two years at Burnley while left-back Dennis Cirkin and midfielder Dan Neil stand out at Sunderland, as well as striker Callum Wilson at West Ham.
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Burnley keeper Martin Dubravka is a neighbour and close friend of Slovakia teammates Tomas Rigo and Robert Bozenik, although Stoke already have a goalkeeper sorted in Viktor Johansson. Right-backs Sam Byram and Nathaniel Clyne are likely to make exits from Leeds and Crystal Palace respectively. Left-back Matt Targett is free too after spending the second half of the season on loan at Middlesbrough from Newcastle.
This time last year the Potters picked up Aaron Cresswell after a decade at West Ham and it is a safe bet, with the way that all clubs in the division have to budget, that they will be scouring lists for potentially influential players to be picked up without a fee.
Who catches your eye? Here are the players coming to the end of their contracts in the Premier League.
Arsenal
Karl Hein (goalkeeper, joining Werder Bremen)
Aston Villa
Ross Barkley (midfielder)
AFC Bournemouth
Matai Akinmboni (centre-back)
Fraser Forster (goalkeeper)
Marcos Senesi (centre-back)
Brentford
Rico Henry (left-back)
Mathias Jensen (midfielder)
Josh Dasilva (midfielder)
Brighton and Hove Albion
Adam Webster (centre-back)
Solly March (right winger)
Joël Veltman (right-back)
James Milner (midfielder)
Burnley
Josh Laurent (midfielder)
Martin Dúbravka (goalkeeper)
Václav Hladky (goalkeeper)
Ashley Barnes (striker)
Axel Tuanzebe (centre-back)
Chelsea
N/A
Crystal Palace
Daichi Kamada (midfielder)
Jefferson Lerma (midfielder)
Nathaniel Clyne (right-back)
Naouirou Ahamada (midfielder)
Everton
Vitaliy Mykolenko (left-back)
Idrissa Gueye (midfielder)
Harry Tyrer (goalkeeper)
Seamus Coleman (right-back)
Tyler Onyango (midfielder)
Fulham
Harry Wilson (forward)
Raúl Jiménez (striker)
Luke Harris (midfielder)
Steven Benda (goalkeeper)
Leeds United
Illan Meslier (goalkeeper)
Sam Byram (right-back)
Karl Darlow (goalkeeper)
Alex Cairns (goalkeeper)
Liverpool
Ibrahima Konaté (centre-back)
Andy Robertson (left-back)
Freddie Woodman (goalkeeper)
Rhys Williams (centre-back)
Manchester City
John Stones (centre-back)
Bernardo Silva (midfielder)
Stefan Ortega (goalkeeper)
Marcus Bettinelli (goalkeeper)
Manchester United
Casemiro (midfielder)
Jadon Sancho (winger)
Tyrell Malacia (left-back)
Tom Heaton (goalkeeper)
Newcastle United
Fabian Schär (centre-back)
Kieran Trippier (right-back)
Emil Krafth (right-back)
Matt Targett (left-back)
Mark Gillespie (goalkeeper)
Nottingham Forest
Angus Gunn (goalkeeper)
Willy Boly (centre-back)
Sunderland
Dennis Cirkin (left-back)
Dan Neil (midfielder)
Bertrand Traoré (winger)
Harrison Jones (midfielder)
Blondy Nna Noukeu (goalkeeper)
Simon Moore (goalkeeper)
Niall Huggins (right-back)
Tottenham Hotspur
Yves Bissouma (midfielder)
Ben Davies (left-back)
West Ham
Callum Wilson (striker)
Lukasz Fabianski (goalkeeper)
Wolves
Matt Doherty (defender)
Who catches your eye? Click HERE to join the debate
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