Leon Osman - Central Midfielder - Age 35
Played for Moyes before? Check. Played for Everton before? Check. Out of contract? Check.
Whilst this seems like such an obvious link to make, Leon Osman was the first name that came to mind when Victor Anichebe admitted this weekend that "I’ve got friends in a similar position to the one I was in and they have been on to me asking if they can speak to the manager."
Osman has been without a club since leaving Everton in the summer and has kept his name out there with a number of appearances on the likes of Match of the Day and Goals on Sunday.
Back in November he admitted that whilst he's not actively looking for a club, he'd consider moving if the deal was right.
He said:
If someone called me tomorrow and said 'Come and play for us' I'd have to consider it, but at the minute I'm not actively looking for a club.
Interesting. Whether he could still do a job at this level is anyone's guess, but you have to admit that it wouldn't surprise you in the slightest if Osman rocked up on Wearside over the coming weeks when you consider our lack of experienced central midfield options.
Jefferson Farfan - Attacking Midfielder/Winger - Age 32
Right at the top of the free agent list is Peruvian Jefferson Farfan.
Just short of 100 career goals in the Eredivise and Bundesliga for both PSV Eindhoven and Schalke 04 respectively, the 32-year-old was recently released from his contract at Abu Dhabi club Al Jazira due to "violating the rules of his contract".
His pace and technical ability made him one of the most exciting attacking midfielder in Germany, topping the assists chart for his club regularly.
Although we have a fair few players already in wide positions, Farfan would definitely be worth a look if Wahbi Khazri departs in January.
Rumours earlier this month linked the Peruvian with a move to Brazilian club Palmeiras, but where he ends up remains to be seen. I somehow doubt that a move to Sunderland is something that he'd fancy, or that we'd risk any potential wages on a player that doesn't have experience of playing in the Premier League, but you never know.
Martin Cáceres - Central Defence - Age 29
With Lamine Kone possibly departing the club permanently, or at best leaving us for much of January whilst competing in the African Cup of Nations, it’s fairly important that we ensure that we are well-equipped at the back.
Martin Caceres - formerly of Sevilla, Barcelona and Juventus - was released in the summer by the Turin club and, due to the severity of the injury that he has been recovering from for much of 2016, he's yet to find a club.
Just months before suffering his Achilles injury he was heavily linked with Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool side.
You have to imagine that Cáceres is probably well out of our price range when it comes to wage and, when fit, will have a whole host of top European clubs on his trail.
Kevin Constant - Left Back - Age 29
It is without a doubt that Patrick van Aanholt is the first choice left back at Sunderland and should continue to be so - for all his shortfalls, he’s still one of our most important players.
That said, having experienced cover at left back is pretty important - if Patrick gets hurt, we're left with playing other players out of position or giving Tom Robson his chance from the U23s side, and when you are in a relegation scrap neither of those options seem preferable.
Constant most recently turned out for Italian side Bologna - where he linked up with former Mackem Emmanuele Giaccherini down their left hand side - before being released in the summer.
Having failed to earn a contract after a trial with Championship side Birmingham City last month it's probably fair to say that, whilst Constant would probably welcome a move to Sunderland and the English Premier League, he's maybe just not good enough.
Raul Meireles - Central Midfielder - Age 33
Formerly of Liverpool and Chelsea, Raul Meireles was actually linked with us during Dick Advocaat’s time at the club.
Now aged 33 it's safe to say that his career is tailing off, but the Portuguese international could still yet have something to offer to a team lacking quality and experience in the middle of the park.
Meireles has played for some very big clubs over the years and you can only imagine that he commands a decent wage - something that Sunderland just aren't able to offer right now.
His final season in Turkey playing for Fenerbache was blighted by injuries and he started just eleven games before being released in the summer.
Quite why Meireles hasn't found a club yet is anyone's guess. One can only presume that he's lapping up all of the time off - his social media activity would suggest he's enjoying wearing Metallica t-shirts and having a really big beard, which is nice.
The Others...
Dimitar Berbatov, Emmanuel Adebayor, Sulley Muntari, Alexander Buttner, Steven Taylor, Joey O'Brien, Michael Essien, Jose Bosingwa, Diego Poyet and Ricardo Carvalho are just some of the names that have Premier League experience and are currently without clubs.