Football Manager 2018: 25 Free Agents You Must Sign
23. Joey Barton
Age: 34
Position: DMC/MC
Controversial perhaps (would he have it any other way, though?), but Joey Barton would do a job still at most Championship teams (as he'd no doubt tell you). And while he's suspended in the game until the end of the 2017/18 season, he's a reasonable gamble with no transfer fee. Or he's at least one worth watching closely.
He'll be best in the deeper, less mobile defensive midfield role with quicker younger players around him, but he definitely has the stats of a valuable combatitive lynchpin. Provided they don't evaporate when he comes back from suspension.