About time for this as League One and the National League are over (bar play-offs) and teams are putting out their released/retained lists.
Previous years:
2015
2014
(can't find last year or prior to 2014, feel free to look!)
Collated BBC page of released players
Watford obviously have a few weeks left, and we don't have any senior players out of contract, bar amenable cheapo third-choice keeper Rene Gilmartin, who may be at risk as Mazzarri wasn't prepared to have him as temporary second-choice in January and dropped an outfield player from our 25-man Premier League squad to add a non-home-grown keeper. But then, Mazzarri might not be here, so add more complication there (I think he will be though).
We've got a few loanees in - Juan Zuniga made a good show as a utility player in the first-half of the campaign, but has barely featured in the second. He's 31 and unlikely to get another deal. M'Baye Niang (22) has shown why he couldn't break through at Milan - flashes of talent, but often making poor decisions or getting the ball stuck under his feet. That said, the mooted ~£13m fee is probably now good value in this market, and I suspect we'll turn it permanent unless someone bigger comes in. Tom Cleverley's loan from Everton has already been converted to a permanent deal at the end of the season and that's a good thing.
Elsewhere, this is the first summer since 2012 where we won't have to deal with rumours of Troy Deeney's departure (well, a couple of papers have said West Brom, but it seems half-arsed). Nor are any other players likely to attract suitors higher up the food chain. Steven Berghuis (25) has seemingly had a good season winning the title on loan at Feyenoord, and he's made contradictory statements about staying/coming back. I'm inclined to think he'll end up there, which is a bit of a shame as he never got a fair crack after Flores bought him last season.
Another Flores signing, Mario Suarez (30), doesn't seem to have done so well at Valencia, but is unlikely to have a future with us and will probably be back in Spain by some means come August. Headless wing-back Juan Carlos Paredes (30 in July) has also flopped at Olympiakos, but is unlikely to return to Vicarage Road. Mathias Ranegie (33 in June), not seen in Hertfordshire since 2014, is out of contract. Right wing-back Brice Dja Djedje (26) is the aforementioned player dropped for a third-choice keeper - he missed the first half of the season through injury so has only played a couple of cup games in his first season. Leaving him out of the squad seemed to be a bit of a damning assessment, but he might not have been fully fit and we've been playing wingers and centre-backs on the right for much of the season, so he may have a future.
Otherwise, there will likely be concerns about the age of the squad. We haven't hit a cliff yet, but of our regular (permanent) first-team squad only Christian Kabasele (26), Roberto Pereya (26) and Abdoulaye Doucoure (24) are under the age of 27. Come the start of the season, we'd have nine players between 30-32, with Jose Holebas just turned 33 and Heurelho Gomes the older statesman in goal at 36. First out the door may be Valon Behrami (32), with strong suggestion he'll be allowed to go live out his playing days at home in Sion. Ben Watson (32 in July) has also been out of favour all season and will likely seek one last deal in the Championship. It wouldn't surprise me if the club start looking round for a Gomes replacement, although he's again there or thereabouts for our player of the season, while fellow keepers Costel Pantilimon (30) and Giedrius Arlauskis (a youthful 29) may also seek first-team football elsewhere. Otherwise it's hard to say, everyone's playing regularly and it may simply depend on where we plan to upgrade.
One last caveat to this is the various players that we probably own who are on loan at Granada and Udinese. The club has never confirmed we own Sven Kums (29, MF at Udinese), Uche Agbo (21, DF at Granada), Aly Malle (19, MF at Granada), but there's a fair chance they'll be acknowledged like royal bastards brought into the succession. Or come play for us, if you don't like that metaphor. We do definitely own Adalberto Penaranda (nearly 20, FW at Malaga), who has had two patchy years on loan since joining us from Udinese. Toss-up as to whether he finally comes to us or goes out again. There's also various unofficial teenage South Americans dotted around the globe, but I doubt we'll see much of them.
Your turn.
Previous years:
2015
2014
(can't find last year or prior to 2014, feel free to look!)
Collated BBC page of released players
Watford obviously have a few weeks left, and we don't have any senior players out of contract, bar amenable cheapo third-choice keeper Rene Gilmartin, who may be at risk as Mazzarri wasn't prepared to have him as temporary second-choice in January and dropped an outfield player from our 25-man Premier League squad to add a non-home-grown keeper. But then, Mazzarri might not be here, so add more complication there (I think he will be though).
We've got a few loanees in - Juan Zuniga made a good show as a utility player in the first-half of the campaign, but has barely featured in the second. He's 31 and unlikely to get another deal. M'Baye Niang (22) has shown why he couldn't break through at Milan - flashes of talent, but often making poor decisions or getting the ball stuck under his feet. That said, the mooted ~£13m fee is probably now good value in this market, and I suspect we'll turn it permanent unless someone bigger comes in. Tom Cleverley's loan from Everton has already been converted to a permanent deal at the end of the season and that's a good thing.
Elsewhere, this is the first summer since 2012 where we won't have to deal with rumours of Troy Deeney's departure (well, a couple of papers have said West Brom, but it seems half-arsed). Nor are any other players likely to attract suitors higher up the food chain. Steven Berghuis (25) has seemingly had a good season winning the title on loan at Feyenoord, and he's made contradictory statements about staying/coming back. I'm inclined to think he'll end up there, which is a bit of a shame as he never got a fair crack after Flores bought him last season.
Another Flores signing, Mario Suarez (30), doesn't seem to have done so well at Valencia, but is unlikely to have a future with us and will probably be back in Spain by some means come August. Headless wing-back Juan Carlos Paredes (30 in July) has also flopped at Olympiakos, but is unlikely to return to Vicarage Road. Mathias Ranegie (33 in June), not seen in Hertfordshire since 2014, is out of contract. Right wing-back Brice Dja Djedje (26) is the aforementioned player dropped for a third-choice keeper - he missed the first half of the season through injury so has only played a couple of cup games in his first season. Leaving him out of the squad seemed to be a bit of a damning assessment, but he might not have been fully fit and we've been playing wingers and centre-backs on the right for much of the season, so he may have a future.
Otherwise, there will likely be concerns about the age of the squad. We haven't hit a cliff yet, but of our regular (permanent) first-team squad only Christian Kabasele (26), Roberto Pereya (26) and Abdoulaye Doucoure (24) are under the age of 27. Come the start of the season, we'd have nine players between 30-32, with Jose Holebas just turned 33 and Heurelho Gomes the older statesman in goal at 36. First out the door may be Valon Behrami (32), with strong suggestion he'll be allowed to go live out his playing days at home in Sion. Ben Watson (32 in July) has also been out of favour all season and will likely seek one last deal in the Championship. It wouldn't surprise me if the club start looking round for a Gomes replacement, although he's again there or thereabouts for our player of the season, while fellow keepers Costel Pantilimon (30) and Giedrius Arlauskis (a youthful 29) may also seek first-team football elsewhere. Otherwise it's hard to say, everyone's playing regularly and it may simply depend on where we plan to upgrade.
One last caveat to this is the various players that we probably own who are on loan at Granada and Udinese. The club has never confirmed we own Sven Kums (29, MF at Udinese), Uche Agbo (21, DF at Granada), Aly Malle (19, MF at Granada), but there's a fair chance they'll be acknowledged like royal bastards brought into the succession. Or come play for us, if you don't like that metaphor. We do definitely own Adalberto Penaranda (nearly 20, FW at Malaga), who has had two patchy years on loan since joining us from Udinese. Toss-up as to whether he finally comes to us or goes out again. There's also various unofficial teenage South Americans dotted around the globe, but I doubt we'll see much of them.
Your turn.
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