46 midfielders whose contracts expire in next 18 months – who could Liverpool target?

January 16, 2023
Jack Lusby

Liverpool will be trawling the market for possible additions to their midfield, either this month or in the summer, but who could be available?

One of the clearest indicators of a player’s availability – particularly for a club such as Liverpool, who operate within their means – is a soon-to-be-expiring contract.

The Reds have often used this to their advantage in the transfer market, such as their £25 million deal to sign Thiago in 2020 – the Spaniard only had a year left at Bayern Munich.

A dwindling contract, in theory, should limit a selling club’s strength in negotiations, and set a more concrete valuation for a prospective target.

So who could Liverpool look to at a time when they desperately need reinforcements in midfield?

Here is a list of 46 midfielders whose contracts are expiring within the next 18 months, including 21 who could move on a free transfer in July.

2023

Youri Tielemans, 25 – Leicester
Jorginho, 31 – Chelsea
Thomas Lemar, 27 – Atletico Madrid
N’Golo Kante, 31 – Chelsea
Daichi Kamada, 26 – Eintracht Frankfurt
Konrad Laimer, 25 – RB Leipzig
Adrien Rabiot, 27 – Juventus
Ilkay Gundogan, 32 – Man City
Houssem Aouar, 24 – Lyon
Mahmoud Dahoud, 27 – Dortmund
Jefferson Lerma, 28 – Bournemouth
Mauro Arambarri, 27 – Getafe
Mathias Jensen, 27 – Brentford
Ellyes Skhiri, 27 – FC Koln
Mateus Uribe, 31 – Porto
Manuel Lanzini, 29 – West Ham
Florian Grillitsch, 27 – Ajax
Daler Kuzyaev, 30 – Zenit St Petersburg
Mohamed Elneny, 30 – Arsenal
Dennis Geiger, 24 – Hoffenheim
Dani Ceballos, 26 – Real Madrid

2024

Declan Rice, 24 – West Ham
Mason Mount, 24 – Chelsea
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, 27 – Lazio
James Maddison, 26 – Leicester
Tomas Soucek, 27 – West Ham
Mateo Kovacic, 28 – Chelsea
Piotr Zielinski, 28 – Napoli
Ruben Neves, 25 – Wolves
Wilfred Ndidi, 26 – Leicester
Hakan Calhanoglu, 28 – Inter Milan
Granit Xhaka, 30 – Arsenal
Julian Brandt, 26 – Dortmund
Guido Rodriguez, 28 – Real Betis
Ruben Loftus-Cheek, 26 – Chelsea
Sofyan Amrabat, 26 – Fiorentina
Youssouf Fofana, 24 – Monaco
Djibril Sow, 25 – Eintracht Frankfurt
Geoffrey Kondogbia, 29 – Atletico Madrid
Bryan Cristante, 27 – Roma
Florian Neuhaus, 25 – Borussia Monchengladbach
Oihan Sancet, 22 – Athletic Club
Koke, 31 – Atletico Madrid
Philip Billing, 26 – Bournemouth
Sander Berge, 24 – Sheffield United
Emre Can, 29 – Dortmund

There are certainly some interesting names that pop up, including a number of players who have been on Liverpool’s radar in the past.

Among those are Thomas Lemar, Houssem Aouar and Mahmoud Dahoud, whose contracts are up later this year, and Piotr Zielinski, Julian Brandt, Florian Neuhaus and Sander Berge, who enter their final 12 months in the summer.

Other names to stand out are pressing machine Dennis Geiger, the England duo of Declan Rice and Mason Mount and, obviously, reported target Sofyan Amrabat.

* Information is courtesy of Transfermarkt. The specifics of certain deals are unclear – for example, it is reported that West Ham have a one-year extension clause in Rice’s contract.