Four footballers on the scrapheap

The frozen-out star

Dimitar Berbatov

Age 31

Situation Under contract at Manchester United, where he has one year remaining on a 100,000 pounds-a-week deal.

Why is he unwanted? The great enigma of Old Trafford, Berbatov is adored as a maverick by one section of United's fan base and dismissed as a work-shy 30.75 million pounds flop by the rest.

Sir Alex Ferguson has yet to disclose his opinion on United's club record signing, but Berbatov's fall from grace over the past 18 months suggests that he has long since lost patience. Having been left out of the squad for the 2011 Champions League final against Barcelona, Berbatov then started just five league games for United last season as Ferguson attempted to reshape his team by injecting more pace and movement in the form of Danny Welbeck and Javier Hernandez.

Berbatov's presence up front has often slowed the team down and made them too predictable, so Ferguson has rarely selected him to start in the blue riband games against the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City.

Berbatov shares the same goals-per-match ratio for United as George Best - 0.38 a game - but few have come against major rivals or in key fixtures. And with Robin van Persie's arrival at Old Trafford, Berbatov's chances of featuring are bleaker than ever.

What are his prospects? United could have allowed Berbatov to leave on a free transfer during the summer with his contract expiring in June, but the club triggered a clause to extend his deal by a further 12 months in an effort to secure a transfer fee for his services.

It was a sensible business decision by United to protect the value of their asset, but they have since been surprised by the lack of interest in the player and, with the transfer window open for just over a week more, they face the prospect of being left with an unwanted fringe player draining the wage bill to the tune of 100,000 pounds a week.

Berbatov's wages are the biggest obstacle for United to overcome in terms of finding a buyer as no club will be prepared to fund a similar pay deal. Fiorentina, Dynamo Kiev and Juventus are showing signs of interest, with Galatasaray and Zenit St Petersburg shifting their sights elsewhere after earlier moves to entice him away from Old Trafford, but United may have to drop their pounds 5?million valuation to strike a deal.


The fallen giant

Michael Owen

Age 32

Situation Unattached following his free transfer from Manchester United, where he earned a basic salary of pounds 15,000 a week.

Why is he unwanted? Stoke City have led the way in attempts to sign Owen this summer after the former England forward was released by United at the end of last season, but agreeing financial terms have proved problematic.

The sad reality for Owen is that very few managers appear prepared to agree with his insistence that he remains fit enough and young enough to perform in the Premier League. The statistics suggest that Owen is not only yesterday's man, but a player whose best days are perhaps a decade behind him.

During his three seasons at Old Trafford, Owen started just six Premier League games. In total, he scored 17 goals in 52 appearances for United, but the high point - an injury-time winner against Manchester City - was almost three years ago.

Long-term absences because of hamstring and thigh injuries made him United's forgotten man, but Owen maintains that he can still deliver goals in the Premier League.

What are his prospects? Having built-up a glittering CV during a career that includes stints at Liverpool, Real Madrid and Manchester United, Owen is accustomed to performing for the biggest and best, but he risks disappointment by sticking to his insistence that he will only sign for a Premier League club.

"I know I can still play in the Premier League and can still score goals," he said this week. "Obviously the question mark for any potential buyers is injuries but I just need a run of games."

Interest from the Middle East, which would have been more lucrative than anything on offer in England, has waned, so he has few cards on the table.

Stoke continue to show an interest, but links with Everton are understood to be wide of the mark, with manager David Moyes preferring to target younger and fitter forwards.

The danger for Owen is that, having missed out on a pre-season, he is already way off the pace and not worth the risk for most Premier League clubs. Unless he takes a reality check in the coming days, he might be left without a club.


The journeyman

Colin Larkin

Age 30

Situation Released by League One club Hartlepool United at the end of last season and currently unattached.

Why is he unwanted? Larkin is just one of dozens of players who find themselves scrambling to continue their careers as lower-league clubs attempt to keep their wage bills under control. The Irish forward, a regular for Hartlepool in the 2010-11 season, suffered a series of fitness problems last season, going over on an ankle in the summer and then injuring a knee.

After a string of failed attempts to return, he was forced to undergo surgery which brought his season to a premature end. To compound his problems, Hartlepool sacked their manager, Mick Wadsworth, midway through the season and his replacement, Neale Cooper, decided Larkin was surplus to requirements.

"The new manager had never seen me play," Larkin said. "My three-year contract finished in June, but rather than offer me a new one I was on trial over the summer and nothing came of it. When you've missed a year, managers just don't think you're fit. It has been a worry because I've not been on mega bucks and I've got a nine-year-old daughter to support."

What are his prospects? Uncertain. Larkin's fitness record and age mean he has few suitors and he is now considering dropping into non-League to keep his career going. He is in talks with Blue Square Premier club Lincoln City but it is not a move without complications.

"If I'm going to sign for Lincoln, we'll have to leave Durham, and that means finding a new home and a new school for my daughter," he said. "My partner will have to quit her job. It's not just about me at my age, so that is added stress. I'd like to think I can carry on playing until 35, but I'm looking into starting a physiotherapy course. It can take four or five years and

I just wish I'd started sooner. If I have any advice to young players it is get something else under your belt."


The youngster

Jordan Lavender

Age 19

Situation Released by Sunderland at the end of last season.

Why is he unwanted? A year ago, Lavender was captaining the likes of Jordan Henderson and Jack Colback in Sunderland's highly-rated under-18 team; now, while his former team-mates flourish in the Premier League, he finds himself without a club and with an uncertain future, like many other young players who just fail to make the grade.

"I was called into the office of the academy director, Ged McNamee, at the end of last season and he told me it was bad news," Lavender said.

"I wasn't going to be offered an extension to my contract. He did give me reasons, but

I wasn't listening by that stage. I was so disappointed and dejected."

What are his prospects? Despite receiving offers of trials with Football League clubs, Lavender has decided his future lies away from England and has taken up a scholarship at Charlestown in West Virginia.

"The lack of security in English football was a big factor," he explained. "If I can get set up in America at university there are opportunities to play in the lower leagues and that's a footstep into the MLS [Major League Soccer].

"At the minute, though, that isn't the priority. I want to get an education, set myself up in a job and things like that. I want the life experience and there are so many opportunities over there. I've loved the last 10 years at Sunderland and I'd still love to make it as a professional, but the reality is I'll have to see how things go over the next few years at university."