As the 2021-22 season draws to a conclusion, the transfer window will soon open. Popular clubs will spend hundreds of millions to ensure they secure the best signings, but what about the free agents, who are no longer in contract?
Exploring this, Ticketgum Premier League Tickets sought to find out the highest value free agents this summer and rank them based on their performance throughout the season, to create the ultimate guide to the best summer transfer deal.
Top 10 free agents in football in the summer of 2022
| Rank | Players | SofaScore Rating | Market Value | Age | Current Club |
| 1 | Kylian Mbappé | 7.68 | £144.00m | 23 | Paris SG |
| 2 | Ousmane Dembélé | 7.56 | £27.00m | 24 | Barcelona |
| 3 | Noussair Mazraoui | 7.34 | £18.00m | 24 | Ajax |
| 4 | James Tarkowski | 7.17 | £19.80m | 29 | Burnley |
| 5 | Boubacar Kamara | 7.14 | £22.50m | 22 | Marseille |
| 6 | Andrea Belotti | 7.11 | £25.20m | 28 | Torino |
| 7 | Antonio Rüdiger | 7.09 | £31.50m | 29 | Chelsea |
| 8 | Alessio Romagnoli | 7.08 | £18.00m | 27 | AC Milan |
| 9 | Franck Kessié | 7.05 | £40.50m | 25 | AC Milan |
| 10 | Andreas Christensen | 7.00 | £31.50m | 26 | Chelsea |
| 11 | Alexandre Lacazette | 6.99 | £18.00m | 30 | Arsenal |
| 12 | Luiz Felipe | 6.97 | £16.20m | 25 | Lazio |
| 13 | Jason Denayer | 6.93 | £15.30m | 26 | Olympique Lyon |
| 14 | Paul Pogba | 6.92 | £49.50m | 29 | Man Utd |
| 15 | Jesse Lingard | 6.64 | £18.00m | 29 | Man Utd |
From the results, we can see PSG superstar Kylian Mbappe topping the list, with the highest average rating of any free agent in the 21/22 season at 7.68. The French Striker managed to score 35 goals and assist 24 more in all competitions, displaying his immense talent.
Moving down the list, we can see Burnley’s James Tarkowski in 4th. Despite his club’s struggles in the Premier League, Tarkowski has managed to remain consistently in great form with an overall rating of 7.17, placing him into the debate of who should be taken to the World Cup this November.
As we reach the bottom of our list, we see two Man United stars in Paul Pogba, with a score of 6.92 and Jesse Lingard with a score of 6.64, who have both displayed levels of talent but have struggled to remain consistent throughout their club’s poor season.
Honourable mentions
Here are 5 Free Agents this summer that may not have played the most games but nonetheless are very experienced and talented individuals.
| Players | Age | Current Club |
| Luis Suaréz | 35 | Atlético Madrid |
| Divock Origi | 27 | Liverpool |
| Luka Modric | 36 | Real Madrid |
| Ángel Di María | 34 | Paris SG |
| Paulo Dybala | 22 | Juventus |
Methodology
- Ticketgum Premier League Tickets sought to find out football’s best free agents at the end of the 2021/22 season.
- Firstly a list of free agents with the highest market value was collected using transfermarkt.
- Utilising SofaScore, an average rating for each player during the 2021/22 season was collected (players with less than 10 games were omitted from the result).
- The players were then ranked in order of highest to lowest rated.
- Data was collected on 11/05/22 and is correct as of then.
