Soccer-Alaba joins Udinese with plenty of big-name free agents still available

By Trevor Stynes

Sept 24 (Reuters) - The transfer window may be closed but for clubs still looking to strengthen their squad or replace long-term absentees there are plenty of high-profile players out of contract, with Udinese signing former Real Madrid defender David Alaba on Thursday.

Alaba, a four-times Champions League winner who lifted 10 Bundesliga titles with Bayern Munich and two LaLiga crowns at Real, captained Austria at this year's World Cup but the 34-year-old has spent much of the last few years on the sidelines.

An anterior cruciate ligament rupture in his left knee in December 2023 put Alaba out for over a year, and the centre back has had numerous injury setbacks since his return. His five-year contract with Real expired at the end of last season.

Serie A side Udinese have lost their last three games and are desperate to shore up the defence, having failed to keep a clean sheet in their opening five league matches, conceding 11 goals. Alaba has signed until the end of the season.

Another 34-year-old defender left Real Madrid at the end of last season when Dani Carvajal brought down the curtain on a hugely successful 13-year spell at the club where he won the Champions League six times, along with four league titles.

Like Alaba, Carvajal has struggled with injuries in the last two seasons and the Euro 2024 winner was left out of Spain's World Cup squad, but media reports have linked him with a move to the Premier League.

SANCHO'S EUROPEAN CREDENTIALS

England forward Jadon Sancho, meanwhile, is likely to move away from the Premier League, after the 26-year-old's five-year contract with Manchester United came ended in June.

Sancho joined United from Dortmund for 85 million euros ($96.65 million) in 2021, but struggled for a regular place before falling out with manager Erik ten Hag who criticised his performances in training.

That led to a number of loan spells including a return to Dortmund along with time at Chelsea and Aston Villa, none of which brought a permanent move.

For a club looking to go deep in European competition, Sancho could prove a decent option. He has reached the final of three different European cups with three different clubs in the last three seasons.

A Champions League final loss with Dortmund was followed by a Conference League final win with Chelsea, when Sancho scored in the final, and last season he came off the bench in Villa's Europa League final triumph over Freiburg.

A former Ballon d'Or winner is also available, after 38-year-old French forward Karim Benzema left Saudi club Al-Hilal by mutual consent at the end of August, with compatriot Paul Pogba also out of contract after parting ways with AS Monaco.

Former Manchester United and Juventus midfielder and World Cup winner Pogba spent over two years out of action following a doping ban and his fitness problems since returning to the pitch in November led to Monaco terminating his contract in August.

Other notable names looking for a club include Algerian winger Riyad Mahrez, a Premier League winner with Leicester City and Manchester City, former Inter Milan and Paris St Germain striker Mauro Icardi plus Italian defenders Francesco Acerbi and Matteo Darmian.

($1 = 0.8794 euros)