Former Arsenal stars and a Ballon d'Or winner: The best free agents still available after Deadline Day

With Deadline Day over, there are still some star names without clubs

The transfer window has slammed shut and all major business is done and dusted.

It was another record-breaking window, as Premier League clubs broken their all-time spending record, reaching £3.49billion. Remarkably, this summer saw three of the ten most expensive signings in history.

There were five deals of £100m or more, with the final one - Enzo Fernandez’s £125m move from Chelsea to Manchester City - taking the Deadline Day expenditure alone beyond half a billion pounds.

English top-flight clubs had already pushed well beyond the £3bn barrier when Iliman Ndiaye's move from Everton to Man City on Tuesday for an initial £60m took the amount spent past the previous mark of £3.14bn from 12 months ago.

But there are still bargains to be had. The free agent market is a who’s who of former greats and fallen stars including some former superstars.

Here, Standard Sport takes a look at an XI of the best free transfers still out there...

Sergio Rico: Standing 6’5” tall, the 33-year-old won the Europa League twice early in his career with Sevilla where the Spanish international played over 170 matches. In 2019 he got his big move to PSG.

David Alaba: The Austrian is available following the expiry of his Real Madrid contract. His time in Spain was heavily impacted by injuries, but with over 80 appearances and four major trophies for Madrid, the 34-year-old might be worth a shot.

Still available: David Alaba

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Diogo Leite: The 27-year-old defender began his career at Porto before moving on to play 85 times for Union Berlin. He was capped 22 times for Portugal’s under-21 side.

Oleksandr Zinchenko: The Ukrainian is still just 29 and has scored 12 goals in 75 appearances for his country. Zinchenko is a Premier League stalwart known for his time with Man City and Arsenal.

Paul Pogba: Pogba made his name with Manchester United and Juventus and won the World Cup with France. His career spiralled and the midfielder was hit with a doping ban. Monaco gave him a lifeline, but released him after the 2025-26 season.

Dele Alli: The former Tottenham and England midfielder has not featured for a club since September 2025, making just one appearance for Como - where he was sent off against AC Milan - in a short-lived spell in Italy.

Riyad Mahrez: Another big name free agent, now in his mid-thirties, Mahrez shot to prominence in football winning both the Premier League title and the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award with Leicester in 2016. He moved onto big things with Man City and has scored 40 goals for his national team of Algeria.

Still searching: Raheem Sterling

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Raheem Sterling: Raheem has bounced from club to club since leaving Man City in 2022. Having began his career at Liverpool playing alongside the likes of Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez, things didn’t work out for him in Holland in his latest move.

Jadon Sancho: Sancho is another player who can’t seem to settle. Phenomenally talented and still just 26, the Englishman has been at four top clubs since 2021.

Philippe Coutinho: The former Liverpool player made what he called ‘a very tough decision’ when leaving Merseyside for the warmer climate of Barcelona in 2018. Since then things haven’t really worked out for the Brazilian.

Karim Benzema: The 38-year-old striker has had a superb career, enjoying a myriad of accolades - including the Ballon d’Or - and titles won with Real Madrid. The marksman accumulated 275 goals in nearly 550 appearances for Real and France before leaving for the Saudi Pro League in 2023.