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.

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(Reporting by Trevor Stynes; Editing by Ken Ferris)