The transfer window may have closed but there are still England internationals up for grabs, including a star once lauded as a generational talent and another who was Lionel Messi’s nemesis…
With the summer window now in the rear-view mirror, English clubs must now have a dip in the free-agent pool if they want to bolster their squads.
There they will find these six former England internationals with, between them, 86 caps…
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
With a second child now on the way, Oxlade-Chamberlain might be feeling slightly more motivated to find gainful employment. If only to get out of the house…
The midfielder, capped 35 times by England, has been a free agent since the end of August when Besiktas agreed to a pay-off of £1.5million, saving them at least £700,000 on the remaining year of his contract.
They had already tried to force him out last year and he had to wait until November for any action, but Oxlade-Chamberlain dug in and enjoyed a renaissance under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, playing in a defensive-midfield role.
It was one out, both out when Oxlade-Chamberlain and Solskjaer left Besiktas within 24 hours of one another. The former Southampton, Arsenal and Liverpool midfielder is attracting Premier League interest from Everton and Leeds, while Birmingham and Rangers are also said to be sniffing round too.
Patrick Bamford
Bamford has only just turned 31 but suitors may be wary of his fitness record, which was one of the factors in Daniel Farke’s decision to jettison the striker from his Leeds squad despite the year remaining on his contract.
The once-capped forward failed to make a Championship start in Leeds’ promotion-winning campaign, his most memorable contribution being the shade he threw upon Chris Wilder when the Whites celebrated their title success. When Dominic Calvert-Lewin is viewed as a more reliable option, you know injuries are a concern.
What next? Any clubs willing to gamble on Bamford’s robustness will have to be quick. Celtic, Boro and Wrexham have all been credited with interest that came to nothing – Teddy Sheringham touted him for Arsenal – so MLS now looks like his most likely destination.
Dele
It feels inevitable that a manager somewhere in the top two tiers will take a punt on a player once regarded as a generational talent.
It would be a gamble, though, since Dele has barely played football in recent seasons, for a variety of reasons, some of which should prompt sympathy for the 29-year-old, others which inevitably won’t.
Dele is a free agent after being released by Como, which appeared a fantastic setting for the playmaker, capped 37 times by England, to kickstart his career. But he managed only one substitute appearance under Cesc Fabregas, which lasted less than 10 minutes at the San Siro, where he was sent off for a clumsy-but-dangerous challenge on Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
That has been Dele’s only action in over two-and-a-half years, since the last of his 15 appearances for Besiktas in February 2023. Still, such inactivity hasn’t deterred Birmingham, Wrexham and West Brom, if the Daily Mail are to be believed.
Fraser Forster
Forster feels like an obvious option for any club looking for a goalkeeper to occupy the Scott Carson role while bolstering their home-grown quota. Indeed, Newcastle were thought to be an option through the summer but they had more rampant fires to fight.
Forster left Spurs in the summer with a Europa League winner’s medal despite not being either of the two keepers on Ange Postecoglou’s bench in Bilbao. The only involvement the veteran keeper had in 2025 was bench duty at Villa in the FA Cup. His last four appearances saw Forster concede 12 goals in a spell most memorable for a Carabao Cup tie when he and Altay Bayindir seemed to engage in their own competition over who could drop the biggest bollock.
His inactivity through the second half of the season seemed to rapidly age Forster who all of a sudden looked even older than his 37 years. But any club looking for emergency cover might do worse than ‘La Gran Muralla’, the man who was once Lionel Messi’s nemesis.
Jonjo Shelvey
Shelvey can claim to have played a role in Burnley’s promotion. Albeit a very minor cameo…
The 33-year-old joined the Clarets in January on a deal until the end of the season after returning early from a spell in Turkey. But Shelvey managed only a couple of substitute appearances in the Championship and two starts in the FA Cup before injury curtailed his campaign.
That seems typical of Shelvey’s fortunes since leaving Newcastle after eight seasons in 2022; from there he went to Forest only to fall out with Steve Cooper. Shelvey enjoyed a season at Caykur Rizespor more than his time at Eyupspor, but any new club will have only 330 minutes of video from last season to pore over.
Still, that might be enough for Sheffield United or Hull, who could use a bit of the old Shelvey magic to get them away from the foot of the Championship.
Nathan Redmond
Redmond finds himself in almost an identical situation as Shelvey, having moved from Turkey to Burnley before making two Championship appearances last season prior to being released.
Like seemingly everyone on this list, Redmond has been offered to Wrexham but the Welshmen have so far resisted the temptation to sign a once-capped winger with 53 goal contributions (28 goals, 25 assists) in 276 Premier League appearances for Southampton and Norwich.
Aged only 31, Redmond ought to appeal to a number of Championship clubs though the winger may have to be content with a pay-as-you-play deal since hamstring and calf injuries have restricted him to only two starts – both in the Carabao Cup – in the last two seasons.