The three midfielders Premier League clubs already want to sign

 Manchester United are ready to lead the way next summer in the race for No 6 midfielders with the key position expected to dominate the transfer market.

United made inquiries over Brighton’s Carlos Baleba last month and have to fill the defensive-midfielder slot which has been highlighted since Erik ten Hag’s reign, when he failed to land Frenkie de Jong.

But Baleba, who is valued at more than £100m, is not the only deep-lying midfielder who has caught the eye of Premier League and European clubs, who rarely have so many to potentially choose from at once in that position.

Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson, 22, has broken into the England team and played in the 5-0 win in Serbia that all but booked a place at the World Cup. He played at the base of Thomas Tuchel’s midfield, clearly deeper than Declan Rice and drove England forward when he got on the ball.

Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton pulled out of that Tuchel squad through injury, but has made remarkable progress in the 20 months since leaving Blackburn Rovers. He was taken to the last European Championship without playing for Sir Gareth Southgate, but he is clearing compete for an England place at next year’s World Cup.

Baleba and Wharton are both 21 and all three central midfielders are expected to have clubs tracking their progress this season as they assess what is needed next summer, when a number of high-profile centre-backs will be available for free.

Manchester City could look at that position to ease the workload of 2024 Ballon d’Or winner Rodri, 29, who has returned from a serious knee injury this season. While City were active in the transfer market in the summer, they have strengthened other areas including goalkeeper (Gianluigi Donnarumma and James Trafford), defenders (Rayan Ait-Nouri) and more attack-minded players (Rayan Cherki, Tijjani Reijnders).

United, meanwhile, tried to land De Jong while Ten Hag was at the club, the pair having worked together at Ajax. Ten Hag wanted a No 6 to pick the ball up from centre-backs and dictate play. While Casemiro has forced his way back into the plans at United, he is 33 and the inquiry over Baleba in the summer was for a player with years ahead of him and still reaching his peak

The summer of the free-agent defender

While Trent Alexander-Arnold’s free transfer to Real Madrid was the biggest Bosman story of 2025, there are poised to be several more coming up next year.

Real have been the kings of the high-profile free transfer in recent seasons. Their policy is paying huge fees or nothing at all. But they also have two of their senior centre-backs out of contract at the end of the season.

Antonio Rüdiger was a free transfer from Chelsea when he joined Real in 2022. Unless he signs a new deal at the Bernabéu, he will be free to speak to other clubs about a pre-contract deal from January. David Alaba is another centre-back out of contract at the end of the season.

Marc Guéhi faces Liverpool on Saturday after coming so close to joining them on deadline day earlier this month. He was having a medical when the deal was pulled, with Crystal Palace unable to find a replacement in time.

But the England centre-back, 25, is available on a free transfer at the end of the season and is expected to generate interest from Europe’s top clubs as a Bosman signing, unless a bid is made and accepted in January.

Ibrahima Konaté, who won the Premier League title with Liverpool last season, is also out of contract at Anfield. So too are Harry Maguire and John Stones, who were England’s first-choice centre-back pairing for their biggest matches during the Southgate era.