5 star players out of contract next summer

Players seek new challenge to move elsewhere and prove their mettle. Some of them do not wish to sign a new contract with the current club, and receive plenty offers across the world. They pick the best from the lot.

Andrea Pirlo, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Robert Lewandowski are three deals which spring to mind when the word "free transfer" is brought up. In today's crazy transfer market, players available for free is a golden chance for various clubs to pounce and wrap up the deal as soon as possible.

In this piece, we shall look at five world class players who will be available for free next summer.

#5. Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham Hotspur)

Jan Vertonghen started his footballing career with the Belgian club Beerschot AC. Looking at his immense talent, Dutch heavyweights Ajax decided to add him to their roster at the age of 16. He spent three years at the famous De Godenzonen academy in Amsterdam.

In the quest of playing regularly, the 31-year-old went to Netherlands club RKC Waalwijk on a six-month loan deal. He featured 12 times for them, but that was not enough to keep the club in the Dutch top division. 2007/08 was the breakthrough season for Jan Vertonghen at Ajax and he partnered with the former Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen at the back. Spending six years with the club, he went on to make 220 appearances in the Dutch top division.

During the summer of 2012, former Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas signed Jan Vertonghen for a fee of £12m. Having played under three different managers at White Hart Lane, Vertonghen has cemented his place throughout. He has taken the field 230 times for the London side in these six years and is yet to sign a contract extension. According to talksport, he is a target for Paris Saint Germain.

#4. Adrien Rabiot (Paris Saint-Germain)

Adrien Rabiot's early days as a footballer was riddled with failure, struggling to find a suitable club. He had spells at Creteil, Alfortville, Manchester City, and Pau before signing for French top division outfit Paris Saint Germain in 2010.

Carlo Ancelotti handed the debut to the French midfielder in 2012 against Bordeaux in a 0-0 draw at Parc Des Princes. However, he was loaned out to Toulouse that January to gain more top-flight football experience.

His loan spell worked out well as he went on to make 34 appearances in the subsequent season for Paris Saint Germain. Rabiot has been the favourite under all four managers he has worked under until date - Carlo Ancelloti, Laurent Blanc, Unai Emery and Thomas Tuchel. Making 208 appearances and winning 13 accolades during his stay at Paris, Adrien Rabiot will go down as one of the most decorated players in the clubs history.

The 23-year-old has expressed his desire to leave the club after refusing to sign a new contract with the club. Adrien Rabiot was linked with Barcelona last summer, with Liverpool another club to keep tabs on the midfielder who will be available for nothing.

#3. Anthony Martial (Manchester United)

Antony Martial is a product of Olympique Lyon. The French forward spent four years in the east of the country before switching to Monaco during the summer of 2013. The 22-year-old started to hit headlines at the French club. He is blessed with the uncanny abilities to beat the defenders with pace and trickery and bagging in goals.

Witnessing his extraordinary potential, former Manchester United manager Louis Van Gaal decided to break the bank for the young forward. It cost £56m for the English giants to lure him to Old Trafford. He announced his debut in style by scoring a fantastic solo goal against arch-rivals Liverpool in the Premier League.

Martial was the integral cog of Van Gaal's attacking front line and netted 17 goals in his debut campaign. But, failure to finish in a Champions League place forced Manchester United to sack their manager.

Jose Mourinho was named as the new gaffer of the Red Devils. But, he has struggled to adapt to the Portuguese manager's style who has a habit of overloading the forwards with hefty defensive duties. Martial wanted to leave last summer, with Juventus and Bayern Munich reportedly showing interest, but United wanted a fee upwards £60m.

#2. Toby Alderweireld (Tottenham Hotspur)

Like his compatriot Jan Vertonghen, Beerschot AC was the club which nurtured Toby Alderweireld at the young age. During the summer of 2004, the Belgian defender moved to Netherlands side Ajax, which was a year later after Jan moved there.

It took four years for Alderweireld to break into the first team from the academy. The Belgian defender scored his first goal for the club in a 3-0 win over Heracles in 2009. During his stay at Ajax, he attracted interest from various parts of Europe, but Diego Simeone was quick the wrap up the deal in 2013.

He made only 22 appearances in his first season at Vicente Calderon. The 29-year-old decided to evaluate his options next summer. Southampton led the charge with a loan deal and an obligation to buy him next summer. Ronald Koeman tried to sign him following the loan spell at St. Marys, but Mauricio Pochettino's Tottenham won the race for his signature.

The defender signed a four-year deal in 2015 and has not penned a contract extension with the club since then. He has made 115 appearances for the club to date. He was a target for Manchester United last summer, but failure to strike a deal with Spurs did not pay way for the defender to move to Old Trafford.

#1. David de Gea (Manchester United)

Born in Madrid, David De Gea rose up through the ranks of Atletico Madrid. He made his senior debut in 2009 and played a big part in Atletico's Europa League and Super Cup success in 2010. He played for his boyhood club 84 times in these two years.

David De Gea grew up admiring Manchester United legend Peter Schmeichel. Sir Alex Ferguson flew to Madrid to make this deal happen when Edwin Van Der Sar decided to hang up his boots. During the summer of 2011, the English giants signed the Atletico keeper for a fee of 18 million when he was just 19.

The 27-year-old struggled to mark his name during his early days at Old Trafford. Becoming mature as the days went by, he has gone on to become as one of the best goalkeepers in the world right now and has swept the Clubs player of the season four times in four consecutive seasons. He has won four major trophies with Manchester United, which includes a Premier League title, FA Cup, League Cup and Europa League.

Manager Jose Mourinho is confident that De Gea will sign a new contract, but there has been total silence in De Gea's camp. Should he refuse to sign a new contract, there will be a huge affray between plenty of top clubs to sign him.

Edited by Ben Roberts