The best free agent XI of the 21st Century

Defender: Sol Campbell

Sol Campbell's move to Arsenal was a controversial one - but a successful one too

Perhaps the most controversial entry on this list, England centre-back Sol Campbell first emerged into Premier League action in the early 1990s with Tottenham, whose academy he graduated from after signing with them as a young teenager.

Debuting in 1992, Campbell quickly developed his skills – both quick and imposing, he could tackle hard and dribble the ball out of defence – and cemented himself in the Spurs first team.

By the late 1990s not only was Campbell a key component of the England national team, but he was also Tottenham’s captain, and he led them to their 1999 victory in the League Cup.

However, problems arose when Campbell became disillusioned with the state of Tottenham at the time – the club were miles away from challenging for major honours and couldn’t seem to stick with a manager for long – and allowed his contract to run down.

The defender’s contract ended in the summer of 2001, and despite Spurs offering him a huge contract, he chose to walk away in order to pursue Champions League football – and subsequently signed with Tottenham’s bitter rivals Arsenal, becoming ‘Judas’ to die-hard Spurs fans in the process.

In the end though, Campbell had the last laugh. 2001/02 – his first season with Arsenal – saw him win both the Premier League title and the FA Cup; he won another league title as part of the ‘Invincibles’ side in 2003/04 and while his side eventually came up short, they made the 2005/06 Champions League final against Barcelona and Campbell actually scored Arsenal’s goal in a 2-1 defeat.

Overall, despite making what some considered a questionable move, Campbell was a massive success.

Defender: Markus Babbel

Markus Babbel won a treble after joining Liverpool as a free agent

German full-back Markus Babbel was one of the earliest free agent successes of the 21st century, as he actually made his name with Bayern Munich in the mid to late 1990s, winning the Bundesliga on 3 occasions with the Bavarian giants as well as picking up the UEFA Cup in 1995/96 and gaining a Champions League runners-up medal in 1998/99.

Babbel was rumoured to be on his way to the Premier League in 1996, but that never happened and in the summer of 2000, he left Bayern as a free agent and made his way to Liverpool, where he became an integral part of Gerard Houllier’s side, playing largely from the right-back berth.

The German became massively popular with the Anfield crowd for his daring raids down the right flank, and ended up helping the Reds to a unique treble in 2000/01; Liverpool won the FA Cup, the EFL Cup and the UEFA Cup, with Babbel being a particularly key performer in the latter, as he opened the scoring in the final against Alaves after just 4 minutes.

The game turned into a wild affair that Liverpool eventually won 5-4 after extra time, with Babbel playing another part as Magno Mocelin was sent off for a bad foul on him late in the game.

An issue with Guillain-Barre Syndrome largely curtailed Babbel’s Liverpool career – he lost a full season due to the illness and never really came back to form at Anfield – but for the impact he made during his initial season there, he should go down as a great free agent signing.

Midfield: James Milner

James Milner has been a surprisingly big hit at Liverpool

One of the Premier League’s most versatile players – able to slot in anywhere in the midfield and also as a full-back at times – James Milner saw success at Newcastle United and Aston Villa before signing for the newly-minted Manchester City in the summer of 2010.

That move was expected to mark the apex of the England international’s career, and indeed, he won two Premier League titles and two FA Cups during his time at the Etihad.

At the end of the 2014/15 season though, Milner’s City career looked dead in the water as he was deemed surplus to requirements, and he ended up making a move as a free agent to Liverpool. Little was expected of his move to Anfield, but instead he’s surprisingly become a huge success for the Reds over the past 4 seasons.

Milner played largely as a midfielder in his early days at Liverpool and was then deployed by Jurgen Klopp as a left-back for almost the entire 2016/17 campaign, performing his duties there excellently too.

2017/18 saw him return to his more familiar midfield role though, and it was from there that he broke the Champions League’s assists record – setting up 9 goals in a single edition of the competition.

Milner has yet to win a trophy with the Reds but it only feels like a matter of time before that changes as Liverpool go from strength to strength, and as the side’s current vice-captain few would play down his importance to Klopp’s side.