Five Bundesliga bargains available in 2015

From January 1, 2015, clubs can begin approaching players whose contracts will finish at the end of the 2014-15 season.

A by-product of the game-changing 'Bosman ruling' which held that every EU footballer is free to negotiate deals to any other EU-based team after their current contract expires, players are also able to sign pre-contract deals with other clubs if they have six months remaining on their current deals.

While the players involve won't move in the January window, it has proven to be an excellent way to acquire top players on free transfers before the summer window opens. DW has picked our top players with contracts expiring at the end of this domestic season, who we think would be fabulous transfer targets for any European club right now.

Claudio Pizarro (Bayern Munich)

At 36, many would deem Claudio Pizarro (pictured above) as past it. But in truth, the foreigner with the most goals in Bundesliga history (176) would be an outstanding signing for many sides in the top division.

He's been given ample game-time under Pep Guardiola and has even been thrown on the park to dig the Spanish coach out of a hole. He's a traditional striker with that goalscoring instinct that has morphed into a number ten with the playmaking skills to make up for his lack of pace.

When you consider the striker problems at Stuttgart, Bremen, Hamburg or Dortmund, Pizarro would be a reliable stop-gap when his contract expires.

Vieirinha (Wolfsburg)

The tricky Portuguese dribbler is not a player that the Wolves want to let go. He's courting interest from Sevilla, Dynamo Kyiv and other top European clubs - but the lure of Champions League football might be enough for the Wolves to extend his contract.

Until then, Vieirinha should be a wanted man. The 28-year-old has been excellent for Dieter Hecking's team in 2014, playing on the right-hand side of midfield and in some occasions, deputizing at right full-back.

He's far from a magician, but he's tactically a smart player who can keep things ticking over on the wing. His name might not stand out from the list of other Bosman players, but he's certainly one to keep an eye on.

Loris Karius (Mainz)

Competing in a league with a plethora of top-class goalkeepers, Karius has held his own and has even become in his own right one of the best. It's no surprise that teams of the caliber of Benfica and Liverpool have been linked with the 21-year-old.

He answered a goalie-crisis for Thomas Tuchel last season and has gone on to make the position his own at Mainz. Highly-rated as a teenager, he went to England and developed at Manchester City before returning to Mainz in 2011.

Commanding and a quick decision-maker, Karius would be the ideal bargain to cure any goalkeeping crisis.

Tolgay Arslan (Hamburg)

In Hamburg, Arslan is rumored to be someone the club now wants to sell, but with just six months on his contract that would seem unlikely. The player himself has said he’d be interested in a move to Italy.

Either way, the 24-year-old midfielder definitely ends his contract at Hamburger SV on June 30, 2015, and would be an excellent player to sign up now for an ambitious European club.

The former Turkish junior international has now committed to Germany, having already played a couple of games for the German U21 side, and has received excellent coaching throughout his junior development, first at Dortmund’s juniors then at Hamburg.

Sebastian Prödl (Bremen)

Bremen’s vice captain, Sebastian Prödl, is currently out injured with a knee injury. Still, the defender remains a strong player in Bremen’s struggling setup and crucial to the club.

But at 27 years of age, Prödl is at his prime at the moment and must be getting other offers, even if he hasn’t quite reached his potential. A top quality coach could likely get a bit more out of him, and the Austrian must be wondering whether he really wants to stay on at Bremen, the way they are playing at the moment.