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Which Premier League players are out of contract this summer transfer window?
With the Premier League season at an end, attention is turning to the summer transfer window.
The 2023 summer window will open for business on June 14 and runs until September 1, but June 30 is another key date — Premier League rules dictate that is when player contracts ending this summer expire.
Our writers look at the players expected to leave their clubs in this way at the end of the month, and those who may be on the verge of signing another deal.
The 2023 summer transfer window on The Athletic…
Who is leaving and why?
Arsenal do not have too many contracts expiring, with Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Reiss Nelson the only players who will become free agents at the end of June. Maitland-Niles is expected to leave upon the expiration of his contract as the club have decided against triggering their option of a further year.
Nelson is expected to extend his stay in north London. The 23-year-old is set to agree a new four-year deal.
Players out of contract: Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Reiss Nelson.
Art de Roché
Who is leaving and why?
Jed Steer will leave Villa after 10 seasons at the club. The 30-year-old is one of only two players out of contract and will seek a new adventure. Steer is still injured having gone through surgery earlier in the year on the back of an Achilles injury. Ashley Young’s departure has also been confirmed.
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Players out of contract: Jed Steer, Ashley Young.
Gregg Evans
Who is leaving and why?
Jefferson Lerma is poised to join Crystal Palace as a free agent after Bournemouth were unable to convince him to sign a new contract, while left-back Jordan Zemura agreed a four-year deal back in April to join Udinese of Serie A for next season.
Matias Vina’s loan spell from Roma ends on June 30, although Bournemouth have an option to make the move permanent for €15million (£13.61m; $16.84m).
Jack Stacey is joining Norwich City of the Championship and Junior Stanislas is also departing after nine years at the club.
Players out of contract: Jefferson Lerma, Junior Stanislas, Jack Stacey, Matias Vina (loan), Jordan Zemura.
Ahmed Shooble
Who is leaving and why?
There were emotional scenes on the final day of the season when Brentford waved goodbye to Pontus Jansson. He is considered by senior figures at the club to be one of the most important signings they have ever made and his leadership will be sorely missed.
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Sergi Canos, another club legend, has had a one-year extension triggered after spending the last six months on loan with Greek side Olympiacos. Saman Ghoddos is leaving, while neither of Joel Valencia and Tariqe Fosu, who have made one combined appearance in the Premier League between them, has a future at the club.
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Players out of contract: Saman Ghoddos, Pontus Jansson, Sergi Canos (one-year option has now been triggered), Tariqe Fosu, Joel Valencia.
Jay Harris
Brighton & Hove Albion
Who is leaving and why?
Brighton only have three players theoretically out of contract this summer, and they have one-year options to extend the deals of two of them — Dutch defenders Joel Veltman and Jan Paul van Hecke. The club are in talks with Veltman and his representative over a new contract. Head coach Roberto De Zerbi has already stated the 31-year-old right-back will definitely be staying.
Tom McGill is staying, with a two-year deal agreed. The 23-year-old goalkeeper has been on the bench recently as cover for Jason Steele, a role Brighton’s long-time No 1 Robert Sanchez refused to fill.
Players out of contract: Joel Veltman, Jan Paul van Hecke, Tom McGill.
Andy Naylor
Who is leaving and why?
Despite talks about a contract extension for N’Golo Kante starting months ago, no deal has been announced. The club have been confident an agreement will be reached, but there are growing concerns elsewhere that the World Cup, Champions League and Premier League-winning midfielder could walk away on a free.
There are also two players on loan whose time at Stamford Bridge is likely to end this month, in Joao Felix and Denis Zakaria. In Zakaria’s case, Chelsea included an option to buy him permanently from Juventus for £30million in the loan deal. This is not expected to be triggered.
Joao Felix had no such clause included. The club were prepared to extend his stay from Atletico Madrid, on loan or permanently, if he impressed though, yet that no longer appears to be on the agenda.
Players out of contract: N’Golo Kante.
Simon Johnson
Who is leaving and why?
Wilfried Zaha’s future remains uncertain. He is weighing up his options, with Palace having offered him a £200,000 a week contract in a bid to convince him to continue his long association with Selhurst Park.
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James McArthur and Luka Milivojevic have confirmed their departures. McArthur, 35, has struggled with injury over the past two seasons while Milivojevic has become a back-up option. Cheick Doucoure has proven to be an excellent signing in his debut season, which has pushed Milivojevic, 32, down the pecking order further.
Jack Butland is expected to leave after failing to establish himself as either the No 1 or as competition for first-choice Vicente Guaita and ending the season out on loan.
Players out of contract: Luka Milivojevic, James McArthur, Wilfried Zaha, Joel Ward, Nathaniel Clyne, James Tomkins, Jack Butland, Nathan Ferguson.
Matt Woosnam
Who is leaving and why?
Ruben Vinagre did not start a Premier League game and will return to Sporting Lisbon when his season-long loan expires at the end of the month, while Isaac Price has signed a pre-contract to join Belgium’s Standard Liege, with Everton due around £400,000 in UEFA compensation for their work developing the 19-year-old midfielder.
The option to buy Conor Coady after his initial loan was not taken up and he will return to Wolverhampton Wanderers, while Yerry Mina (above) and Asmir Begovic have both announced they’re leaving.
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Despite the long-term knee injury Seamus Coleman suffered late this season, it would be a surprise if Everton’s club captain was not retained in some capacity.
Players out of contract: Begovic, Coleman, Mina, Price, Tom Davies, Andros Townsend, Andy Lonergan.
Patrick Boyland
Who is leaving and why?
Shane Duffy, Neeskens Kebano and Willian are among those set to see their contracts expire on June 30. Head coach Marco Silva has reiterated that Willian’s renewal is a “priority” for the club, whereas Duffy is likely to depart.
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Others will have their loan agreements end, such as wingers Daniel James and Manor Solomon, right-back Cedric and left-back Layvin Kurzawa. Solomon is on a temporary one-year stay after suspending his contract at Shakhtar Donetsk amid the conflict in Ukraine. But the Israel international has garnered interest from Tottenham after a FIFA ruling confirmed he will be able to leave Shakhtar on a free this summer.
Players out of contract: Willian, Kebano, Duffy, Joe Bryan (who is expected to join Bristol City), Steven Sessegnon, Anthony Knockaert, Paulo Gazzaniga.
Ahmed Shooble
Who is leaving and why?
Caglar Soyuncu has already signed a pre-contract agreement with Atletico Madrid and there has been no news on contract offers to several others.
James Maddison was going to be sold regardless this summer. With relegation now confirmed, he will not be the only one out the door: Harvey Barnes will also be sought-after. Youri Tielemans has said he is off, and Tete will leave when his loan from Shakhtar Donetsk is up.
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Players out of contract: Caglar Soyuncu, Jonny Evans, Youri Tielemans, Ryan Bertrand, Ayoze Perez, Nampalys Mendy, Daniel Amartey.
Rob Tanner
Who is leaving and why?
Weston McKennie is at the end of his loan from Juventus, and will not stick around permanently. A long-term move for the American was contingent on Leeds staying up anyway, but it is quite clear his loan has not gone well.
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The only two senior players out of contract this summer are midfielder Adam Forshaw and goalkeeper Joel Robles. Leeds have options to extend both their stays, but whether they will want to do so remains to be seen. The changes to the dressing room this summer will be substantial.
Players out of contract: Adam Forshaw, Joel Robles.
Phil Hay
Who is leaving and why?
Roberto Firmino, James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are all off as free agents when their contracts expire.
Firmino was offered an extension but has decided to pursue a new challenge. He’s attracting interest from Spain.
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Jurgen Klopp was keen to keep Milner too, but no contract offer was ever forthcoming with the club ultimately deciding to channel their resources elsewhere. The 37-year-old midfielder is set to stay in the Premier League, with Brighton the favourites for his signature. Newly-promoted Burnley are also keen if he wants to stay in the north west.
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Neither Keita nor Oxlade-Chamberlain was offered fresh terms after injuries blighted their Anfield careers.
Back-up goalkeeper Adrian is also out of contract this summer but he’s expected to sign a new short-term deal with talks ongoing.
Players out of contract: Roberto Firmino, James Milner, Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Adrian.
James Pearce
Who is leaving and why?
Nothing is set in stone yet in terms of City’s summer outgoings. Ilkay Gundogan’s contract expires this month but talks are ongoing regarding an extension and Bernardo Silva’s future is also still up in the air. Aymeric Laporte is likely to move on, though, after falling down the centre-back pecking order.
Benjamin Mendy will leave the club. He was found not guilty of six counts of rape and one of sexual assault in January but faces a retrial this summer over two further charges.
Players out of contract: Ilkay Gundogan, Benjamin Mendy.
Sam Lee
Who is leaving and why?
Earlier this month, Phil Jones wrote an open letter to Manchester United fans, confirming his intention to leave the club this summer at the expiry of his contract following a “very difficult” few years almost totally lost to injury.
Another soon-to-be-confirmed departure will be that of academy graduate Axel Tuanzebe. The centre-back has made five appearances for Stoke City of the Championship since joining on loan in January.
Players out of contract: Phil Jones, Axel Tuanzebe.
Carl Anka
Who is leaving and why?
Loris Karius, Ciaran Clark and Matty Longstaff are all expected to leave. Clark has been at Newcastle for seven years but spent this season out on loan, while Karius joined on a one-year deal, initially to cover for the loaned-out Martin Dubravka. Academy product Longstaff is currently recovering from an ACL knee injury suffered in December, so may complete his rehab at the club.
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Paul Dummett is expected to sign a new short-term contract, while Mark Gillespie may also remain as the third-choice ’keeper, with both players contributing towards the European homegrown quota.
Eddie Howe wants Matt Ritchie to stay, but recognises the winger has found the distance between him and his young family, who are based hundreds of miles away on England’s south coast, difficult in recent seasons.
Players out of contract: Matt Ritchie, Loris Karius, Matty Longstaff, Ciaran Clark, Paul Dummett, Mark Gillespie.
Jacob Whitehead
Who is leaving and why?
Jack Colback will leave, while Jesse Lingard won’t be offered an extension following a frustrating, disappointing single season at the club. Cafu and Lyle Taylor were not included in Forest’s 25-man squad, following the swathe of new signings last summer and will also depart.
Andre Ayew arrived in January on a short-term contract and there is still a small chance Steve Cooper could extend his relationship with a player he trusts implicitly following their time together at Swansea City, but that is unlikely. Serge Aurier has made a positive impact and the one-year extension clause in his contract has been activated.
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Players out of contract: Jesse Lingard, Jack Colback, Cafu, Lyle Taylor, Andre Ayew.
Paul Taylor
Who is leaving and why?
Away from those out of contract at the end of the month, you may need more than two hands to count how many players will leave relegated Southampton this summer. James Ward-Prowse, Romeo Lavia and Kyle Walker-Peters are the club’s biggest assets and it is highly probable all three will go.
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Armel Bella-Kotchap, Carlos Alcaraz, Romain Perraud and Kamaldeen Sulemana are also attracting interest from elsewhere, while Mohammed Salisu and Che Adams — who will each be going into their contract’s final year — are also likely to leave.
Players out of contract: Willy Caballero, Mohamed Elyounoussi, Theo Walcott.
Jacob Tanswell
Who is leaving and why?
Not a lot to report on this front, as Tottenham do not have any players out of contract this summer.
Players out of contract: None.
Charlie Eccleshare
Who is leaving and why?
Manuel Lanzini is set to say goodbye when his contract expires at the end of the month. The midfielder came off the bench in the loss to Leicester City that was West Ham’s Premier League season finale to reach 179 league appearances for the club during his eight-year stay.
Youngsters Jamal Baptiste and Mipo Odubeko will go too, with their deals also running out this summer.
Angelo Ogbonna and Lukasz Fabianski have one-year options in their contracts, which the club could activate.
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Players out of contract: Manuel Lanzini, Angelo Ogbonna, Lukasz Fabianski, Jamal Baptiste, Mipo Odubeko.
Roshane Thomas
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Who is leaving and why?
Almost any player could be on the move if it suits Wolves’ financial fair play problem-solving and the desire to reshape the squad, but there are several who are widely expected to depart.
They include out-of-contract trio Joao Moutinho, Diego Costa and Adama Traore, with the club confirming the first two are off, as well as talismanic captain Ruben Neves, who is entering the final year of his contract.
Players out of contract: Joao Moutinho, Adama Traore, Diego Costa.
Steve Madeley
(Top photos: Getty Images)
