Every summer, a raft of players leave their clubs on free transfers, and every summer, dozens of clubs are sniffing around for a bargain.
They might not make the same headlines as £80 million megadeals, but free transfers generally represent some of the more interesting deals of any transfer window.
Here are a few of the bigger names who can be snapped out for nowt...
"Hull City? Really?"
Michael Owen
Age: 29
Position: Striker
Nationality: English
With the World Cup now little over 11 months away, Owen will need to pull off something spectacular next season if he’s to force his way back into Fabio Capello’s squad in time for a jaunt to South Africa.
Hull boss Phil Brown has made his intentions to take the former Liverpool and Real Madrid striker to the KC Stadium clear, but Aston Villa and Everton both look set to compete with the Humbersiders for Owen’s signature.
His past injuries may have affected his pace, but Owen’s goal scoring record at Newcastle still stands at an impressive 26 goals in 70 Premier League matches. The only concern will be that those 70 games took place over the course of four years.
Maniche
Age: 31
Position: Central midfielder
Nationality: Portuguese
One of the stars of the Portugal side that got to the final of Euro 2004 (remember that cracking goal against Holland?), Maniche has had a mixed time of it since becoming something of a household name five years ago.
In that time, the midfielder has been on a tour of some of Europe’s biggest cities – namely London (with Chelsea), Moscow (Dynamo), Milan (Inter) and Madrid (Atletico) – and largely failed to set the world alight at each.
He did manage to turn out nearly 60 times for Atletico during his three year stay in Spain – a spell which was interrupted by his loan stint at Inter – but never really managed to match the brilliance of his Porto pomp.
The Spanish side have opted not to renew the Portuguese’s contract, and he’ll now be looking for a new club – could the Premier League beckon again?
Carlos Kameni
Age: 25
Position: Goalkeeper
Nationality: Cameroonian
The Cameroon keeper had an eventful 2008/09 season at Espanyol.
Having previously been deemed one of the better keepers in La Liga, Kameni endured a spectacular loss of form in the last year of his contract, as the Barcelona-based side struggled against relegation.
Things got worse when, after a training session in January, Kameni had a set-to with a fan who advised the African stopper not to bother renewing his contract and another training ground tiff followed in May, this time with team mate Grégory Béranger.
Kameni evidently heeded that fan’s advice and has since let his contract run down. Linked with the likes of Spurs and Manchester City in January, England could be a very possible destination for Kameni.
Sol Campbell
Age: 34
Position: Centre back
Nationality: English
The big former England centre back looks likely to move on from Fratton Park, with Aston Villa the most notable side to have been linked with his signature.
Martin O’Neill is said to be keen to take the experienced defender to Villa Park as a replacement for Martin Laursen, but he’ll face competition from several other sides across Europe for the former Arsenal and Tottenham defender.
Could an emotional return to White Hart Lane as cover for the injury-besieged Ledley King be in the offing? No. No, it couldn’t.
Jose Reyes
Age: 25
Position: Winger/forward
Nationality: Spanish
Another former Gunner, the Spanish winger-come-striker is available on a free after being released by Atletico Madrid at the end of 2008/09.
Once seen as one of the hottest attacking talents in European football, Reyes’ stock has fallen a bit since his Arsenal days, but he could still do a job at the top level, and had a pretty steady loan season at Benfica last year.
Reyes played in 110 matches during his two and a half years with the Gunners, netting 23 goals – but seemed to struggle with the physical nature of the Premier League, being particularly vocal about his displeasure at his treatment at the hands (and feet) of those dastardly Neville brothers.
This could mean a return to the Premier League may not be top of his list of priorities, but there would certainly be a few sides keen to take a punt on him – you can’t argue with the price, can you?