Man Utd trio in Premier League XI out of contract and available for free in 2024

Manchester United will presumably trigger extensions for this trio and delay the decision until next year. But Spurs will let their duo leave…

GOALKEEPER: Hugo Lloris (Tottenham)
“There has been nothing other than him being very, very professional about everything,” said Ange Postecoglou in September when it became clear that a) Lloris was never going to play for Spurs again and b) Lloris had no intention of exiling himself in Saudi Arabia even though offers were on the table. So here he is, diligently training at Spurs – where he has played over 400 games – and waiting for the chance to either move for pennies in January or bugger all next summer.

READ: The five Tottenham players who are out of contract at the end of the 2023-24 season

RIGHT-BACK: Aaron Wan-Bissaka (Manchester United)
From completely unwanted to sort of reluctantly needed, it now seems that Wan-Bissaka is stuck in some sort of no man’s land. Is he the right-back Erik ten Hag wants? Probably not. Are they willing to let him leave on a free transfer next summer? Probably not. The solution – as it usually is at Manchester United – is likely to trigger a one-year contract extension and delay the decision before letting him leave for nothing in 2025 instead.

CENTRE-BACK: Eric Dier (Tottenham)
He had not even kicked a ball in anger for Spurs this season until the Chelsea game that blew Tottenham’s season apart in a mad old half-hour but now he is back in the Spurs side until Micky van de Ven is fit or the January transfer window opens and Tottenham can buy reinforcements. Whichever comes first. But it’s clear that Dier is not in the long-term plans of Ange Postecoglou and he will surely leave next summer, when he might fancy returning to Portugal for a lot more sunshine and a lot less hassle than he gets in north London.

CENTRE-BACK: Victor Lindelof (Manchester United)
See the section on Wan-Bissaka but without the stuff about right-backs and with some starting facts about the Swede playing more football than any other Manchester United centre-back this season. “I have an option year and there is a deadline for it,” said Lindelof. “When exactly I don’t know. But it feels quite likely that it will be activated.” Of course it bloody will. This is Manchester United Football Club.

LEFT-BACK: Lloyd Kelly (Bournemouth)
It’s as a centre-back that he is attracting the attentions of Liverpool and Spurs (who are unlikely to pay £30m in January) but he has played both centre-back and left-back for the Cherries in the four years he has spent at the club since joining from Bristol City. If he has England ambitions – and surely he does, with ten Under-21 caps to his name – he will refuse any new contract offers and leave for little or nothing in 2024.

CENTRE MIDFIELD: Jorginho (Arsenal)
“I’m very much in doubt, I would like to return but I don’t know when the right time would be. I want to return yes, but I don’t know when, I feel I still have things to do at Arsenal,” said Jorginho this week, having been buoyed by a run of starts in which he has even been trusted with the armband in the absence of Martin Odegaard. We would not be surprised to see the Italian international sign on for one more season, depending on whether the Gunners ever buy a proper deputy/replacement/partner for Declan Rice.

CENTRE MIDFIELD: Josh Brownhill (Burnley)
Crystal Palace, Wolves, West Ham and Bournemouth have all been linked with the Clarets captain but it’s been reported that Burnley will trigger an extension for a player who has logged almost 150 games for the club, straddling the eras of Sean Dyche and Vincent Kompany. He will not want – and does not deserve – another season in the Championship.

RIGHT WING: Bertrand Traore (Aston Villa)
Very much a remnant of the Dean Smith era, Traore has been given very few chances by Unai Emery, who has brought in the excellent Moussa Diaby and turns to Leon Bailey if he wants a wing option off the bench. Traore has played a pitiful 41 minutes in all competitions this season and will surely be sold in January. At just 28, he will surely have more than a few suitors.

ATTACKING MIDFIELD: Pablo Fornals (West Ham United)
He’s only started one Premier League game this season so the Spaniard is very much surplus to requirements; Mohammed Kudus, Lucas Paqueta and Jarrod Bowen are all way ahead of him. There was some interest from Saudi Arabia in the summer but surely the Spanish international has better options?

LEFT WING: Bobby De Cordova-Reid (Fulham)
They triggered an extension in January but it’s since been quiet on the contract front for the Jamaican international, who is the Cottagers’ joint top scorer this season with two goals. “Tactically, Bobby is almost perfect,” says boss Marco Silva, explaining why the versatile forward can play anywhere across the front four and even at wing-back. They certainly won’t want to lose him for nothing next year.

STRIKER: Antony Martial (Manchester United)
There are conflicting reports about whether Manchester United will trigger the one-year extension available on Martial’s contract or gleefully end his nine-year association with the club next year. Right now he is needed – even in a reduced capacity – at Manchester United as he remains their second-choice striker. And he still has the same number of Premier League goals as Rasmus Hojlund this season.