Patrice Evra joins West Ham: Which other free agents are still available to sign?

Three months on from being sacked by Marseille and suspended by Uefa after being sent off for kicking out at a fan before a Europa League tie against Vitoria in November, former Manchester United stalwart Patrice Evra has sealed a surprise return to the Premier League.

As confirmed by West Ham United via their official website on Wednesday afternoon (7 February), the former France international left-back has put to pen to paper on a short-term deal with the Hammers that will last until the end of the season.

With that agreement in mind, IBTimes UK takes a look at a collection of other interesting free agents that remain on the market following the close of the January transfer window...

Samir Nasri

A name extremely familiar to followers of the Premier League, Nasri finally left Manchester City for Turkish Super Lig outfit Antalyaspor after six years last summer following a season-long loan spell with Sevilla.

Fast forward five months and the attacking midfielder, who won two domestic titles at the Etihad Stadium after a controversial £25m ($34.7m) transfer from Arsenal in 2011, parted company with his fifth club having only made eight total appearances during a difficult spell for the Scorpions - both on and off the pitch - that also saw them sanction the exit of striker Samuel Eto'o.

Alex Song

Continuing the theme of former Arsenal players, central midfielder Song was said to be back on familiar territory at London Colney last week, per The Independent, in order to maintain his match fitness while he searches for a new employment opportunity.

The 30-year-old made 206 appearances under Arsene Wenger after initially signing on loan from Bastia and later spent four years on the books at Barcelona - a frustrating spell that included two seasons at West Ham - before terminating his contract with the Catalan giants by mutual consent in 2016.

He was subsequently snapped up by Rubin Kazan, where he became a regular before leaving last month amid reported ongoing financial difficulties afflicting the Russian side.

Defensive midfield remains a particularly weak area of Arsenal's current squad and some supporters on social media even called for Song to be offered a short-term contract, although, as reported by ESPN, Wenger confirmed last week that he was only permitting him to work on his conditioning when the training ground was available during the afternoons.

Philipp Wollscheid

German centre-back Wollscheid quickly established himself as a first-choice option for Stoke City after arriving on loan from Bayer Leverkusen in January 2015, with his encouraging performances convincing the club to take up their option to sign him on a permanent basis during the following summer.

He went onto start 30 league matches in 2016-17, but, with Bruno Martins Indi set to arrive from Porto, was later dispatched for a miserable and tumultuous loan stint with former suitors Wolfsburg, whom he eventually helped avoid relegation from the Bundesliga.

The permanent signing of Martins Indi in addition to the arrivals of Kevin Wimmer and Kurt Zouma meant the writing was firmly on the wall for Wollscheid back at his parent club and he was released in August before signing a three-year deal at Metz.

Injuries restricted the player to just one appearance - in a Coupe de la Ligue round-of-32 clash against Red Star FC - for Les Grenats before the disappointment of another mutual termination.

Jan Kirchhoff

The versatile ex-Germany Under-21 international wasted little time in becoming a fan favourite at Sunderland after swapping Bayern Munich for Wearside on an 18-month contract in January 2016, becoming an indispensable member of the team that miraculously avoided the drop under Sam Allardyce.

However, a knee cartilage tear suffered against Chelsea in December of that year required surgery and flared up again during his attempted comeback with the Under-23s, meaning he was unable to help the Black Cats repeat that feat with David Moyes.

Kirchhoff was released following relegation and has surprisingly yet to be scooped up despite suggestions during the autumn that Hannover 96 were considering adding him as injury cover for Brazilian defender Felipe.

Jeremy Toulalan

The veteran captain's fate at Bordeaux was seemingly tied to that of head coach Jocelyn Gourvennec, whose dismissal in mid-January following a dismal run of just two wins in 13 matches prompted Toulalan, in a rare show of support and solidarity, to request an early end to his contract, per The Guardian.

Now 34, the former Nantes, Lyon, Malaga and Bordeaux defensive midfielder boasts a wealth of experience.