The Premier League have unveiled their annual released – retained list from all 20 Premier League clubs, including several players that will be leaving Upton Park for the final time. Here are five now free agents that West Ham should at least consider making a move for.
1) Glen Johnson
We start with a former Hammer in Glen Johnson. He left the club in 2003 following our relegation, and signed for Chelsea for a reported fee of £6m. He went on to sign for Portsmouth and become an established England international before signing for Liverpool in 2009 for £17.5m. Johnson’s play severely declined during his last year to 18 months at Anfield, forcing the club to drop him for an unproven prospect in Javier Manquillo, or forcing Emre Can to play out of position with the hope he’d be slightly better. Johnson’s versatility is his greatest attribute, able to play both left and right back to an accomplished level, providing excellent coverage in the back four. He’ll be 31 by the start of next season, but could be a handy player to have when the injury bug strikes.
2) Ron Vlaar
West Ham don’t have the greatest of depth in defence, and the players they do have – James Tomkins, James Collins and Winston Reid have a remarkable knack for picking up niggling muscle injuries which sees them sidelined for a couple of weeks here and there (which seems to happen two of three times a season). The Dutch international centre-back signed for Villa in 2012, and has been a mainstay in their line-up. He starred for Holland at the 2014 World Cup, culminating in him being linked with a big-money move to Manchester United, which never materialised. Vlaar, a seasoned veteran in this division, would be an excellent third-choice centre-back.
3) Micah Richards
We love defenders! Too bad we can’t sign any. Micah Richards, a once budding young star emerging at the Manchester city academy was pushed down the depth chart once they started spending millions upon millions of pounds on foreign talent. He’s an England international, and has spent time playing at both right-back and at the heart of the defence. He has spent this season on loan at Serie A side Fiorentina, where he was used more and more as the season progressed, but only made 19 appearances while in Italy. Another versatile, home-grown talent available. He’s still relatively young as he turns 27 later this month, and could be a very wise acquisition this summer, having shown interest last summer.
4) John Guidetti
Another former Manchester City prodigy has hit the open market as John Guidetti is released. The striker signed from Swedish club IF Brommapojkarna in 2008 but never managed to break into the Sky Blues’ first-team despite impressing during numerous loan spells. He came into the European spotlight during the 2011-12 season while on loan at Eredivisie side Feyenoord where he lit up Holland, scoring 20 goals in 23 league games. That earned him a loan move the next season to Premier League side Stoke, where he only managed six appearances. Celtic were next side to take him on loan for the entirety of last season, and the 23-year-old rediscovered some of his Feyenoord-form, scoring 15 goals in 35 games, and has also been handed two caps for Sweden. Still young with so much potential and clear production in Europe, he’s one worth kicking the tires on.
5) Youssouf Mulumbu
The PSG academy product never managed to make it in France, so he came across The Channel and signed for West Brom initially on-loan who quickly made the move permanent in 2009. He’s been a regular for the Baggies since their most recent promotion campaign from the Championship and has helped steady the ship in the Premier League. The 28-year-old is a regular for the Congo national team and knows how to anchor the midfield. Looking to a replacement for Alex Song, perhaps Mulumbu could fill the void.
