So...David set me a challenge to find some of the best talent possible that is either currently a free or will become a free this year, and I think I have found some good players! Some of these players have contracts expiring this summer and some are at the end of December but all should be available either free or for a cut price fee. All of these players contract details are based on transfermarkt.com which unfortunately has shown a few flaws such as stating Scott Brown's contract is due to expire this summer....I hope the information is accurate but even if not, it may be around 1 year out so a deal could still be done for any players who are in or approaching there final year.
Some of the players I found in this search, are players I have already covered in other Scouting Reports so I won't go into too much detail on them.
Pablo/Pau Cendros - 23 year old Spanish RB currently playing for Mallorca. Value - £1.5M
Mikael Lustig - 24 year old Swedish RB currently playing for Rosenborg. Value - £2.2M
Ragnar Sigurdsson - 24 year old Icelandic CB currently playing for IFK Goteborg. Value - £1.3M
Reto Zeigler - 24 year old Swiss LM/LB currently playing for Sampdoria. Value - £5.2M
Daniel De Ridder - 26 year old Dutch RW/LW currently playing for Wigan. Value - £880K
Guillermo Molins - 22 year old Swedish RM/RW currently playing for Malmo FF. Value - £2.2M
Valter Birsa - 24 year old Slovenian LM/LW/CF currently playing for Auxerre. Value - £3M
Although not included in a Scouting Report, I really don't think I need to tell anyone about James McFadden. 27 year old Scottish striker/any attacking role you want, currently playing for Birmingham. Value - £3.5M
Now for the ones I haven't mentioned before, starting with probably the most exciting, Gil Vermouth. Vermouth is a 25 year old Israeli attacking midfielder currently playing for Hapoel Tel Aviv capable of playing on either wing, central midfield or in the adavanced position behind the striker.
Vermouth has skill, speed, an eye for goal, he has good vision and reads the game well. He loves to attack and always seems willing to get up and support the striker/s. His value, according to transfermarkt.com is around £1.5M and so he should not break the bank should we want him at any stage. I seriously recommend watching the video of him.
[YOUTUBE=Sj1TnM6_JSI]
Mikkel Thygesen is a 26 year old midfielder currently playing for and captain of FC Midtjylland in Denmark. Thygesen is a strong and pacey midfielder capable of playing on the right hand side of midfield, central midfield or the advanced midfield position behind the strikers. His speciality is shooting from distance as the power and accuracy of his strikes are impressive. It is therefore no surprise that he is also a good performer from set-pieces. If you need someone to liken him to, think Ki but with more pace essentially. Valued at around £2.2M, Thygesen's contract runs out in the summer.
Not many good videos but this is the best/only one
[YOUTUBE=Y-PFlmpXdv8]
Per Ciljan Skjelbred, 23 year old Norwegian all-round midfielder currently playing for Rosenborg. Tipped for huge things, his progress was hampered by a horror challenge a season or two ago but he is back and looking good again. He can play anywhere in midfield as he has pace and enough strength. If you think of Scott Brown when he was at Hibs, but with better technical ability. He has that attacking instinct about him, very good going forward, great vision to slip through passes and create opportunities! Skjelbred is valued at around £2M but I would expect a LOT of other big European teams to be looking at him again now that he has returned from injury and I am still not convinced that many players would leave a team like Rosenborg for Celtic, some players wouldn't see it as much of a step up.
[YOUTUBE=a1jPawft9vM]
Luigi Bruins is a 23 year old Dutch winger playing for Feyenoord in Holland. Starting off as a RW, he lost his place in the team. However with the loss of the LW, Bruins was switched over and has made the position his own. Bruins has pace and decent skill but is not a typical tricky winger. He will instead tend to hold the ball up, look for runners or just create that little bit of space to get in a cross. His pace is really used just to get him into the final third of the pitch and up to support the strikers. Bruins has a decent finish on him and is occsaionally found in the striker position where I think, if required he could play. Bruins is valued at around £2.6M.
[YOUTUBE=XKJAnLIzSWk]
The final player I found is a goalkeeper. Simon Pouplin is a 25 year old French GK currently playing for SC Freiburg in the German Bundesliga. Valued at around £3M, Pouplin is considered first choice GK although an injury from October to December meant that the No.2 for Freiburg has made it difficult for Pouplin to get back into the team. At only around 6ft 1, he is not the biggest keeper but he is a good athlete and gets himself around his goal well. I recommend looking at this video of his form from 2006/07.
[YOUTUBE=txrSr96uKiE]
Although I have found all of these players, I don't see room for some of them in the team. Skjelbred is one in particular who we probably don't need as he seems best suited to CM. The same might be said for Thygesen, although comfortable as a winger or wide midfield player, I would imagine he plays more as a central midfielder and that is simply something we aren't in need of.
Luigi Bruins, although a decent looking talent, is still far down the list when compared with the likes of Molins, De Ridder, Zeigler or Vermouth.