With the calendar year now ticking over into July, a host of elite level footballers have become free agents following the expiration of their contracts.

CRAIG HOPE: Billy Whitehurst was once the most feared footballer in the land. Here, those who played against and with Whitehurst reflect on their encounters with the infamous frontman…

JASON MELLOR AT THE KCOM STADIUM: Tony Mowbray was happy to silence his critics after watching Blackburn's early-season recovery gather pace on Tuesday night.

FA Cup third round draw gets underway as sixty-four teams discover their fates this evening at Manchester City's Etihad Stadium.

TOM FARMERY AT THE VALLEY: How devastating for Lee Bowyer and his side. It was nine matches without a win before Friday night having lost their previous four.

For a trailing side, the half-time team talk represents an opportunity for players and manager to regroup, make tactical adjustments, and maybe utter a few home truths. It was very different for Hull in 2008.

The English defender moved to Holland in 2018 after rejecting a new deal with Hull City despite breaking into the first team, and a number of scouts have been watching him this season.

Inter Milan want to secure Christian Eriksen from Tottenham in time for next weekend's match with Cagliari. They need to increase their offer of £15m to convince Tottenham to sell.

Frank Lampard's Chelsea travel to Hull on Saturday evening with the chance to book their spot in the FA Cup fifth round. Join Sportsmail for all the build-up and live action.

As the hours tick down until Friday's deadline, clubs in the Premier League and beyond continue to scramble around for last-minute deals. Here's the moves that could still happen.

West Bromwich Albion midfielder Jake Livermore recalls how he took the young left back under his wing when he arrived in Yorkshire as a quiet teenager from Scotland.

The young left-back faced an in-form Belgian as Steve Bruce's side visited Stamford Bridge with Chelsea firmly in the hunt for the Premier League title.

BLACK DOG: 'Thank God for those cigar fumes,' said a relieved Rory-ite. 'The old boy doesn't carry a mobile phone so Ken's little vice was the only way we found him.'

Ofgem has issued Gnergy with a notice of failure to comply with a final order over unpaid Renewables Obligation payments.

Prepayment meter customers don't have to be stuck on their current tariffs and can save money, the same as standard energy customers, by switching supplier.

The smart meter rollout has suffered another blow after it was revealed that nine small suppliers have not yet signed up to be Data Communications Company (DCC) users.

At some point on October 15, 2015, possibly in the dead of night while waiting for my then one-year-old to go back to sleep, two clicks on my mobile phone cost me £615, says JOANNA TWEEDY.

Vodafone is the most complained about broadband, mobile and landline provider, new data has revealed. It is the second quarter in a row it has been voted the worst for broadband.

Internet providers are ripping off up to five million customers with a shoddy snail's pace service - when they should be paying less for a faster broadband.

This week's deals include: half price personalised pillow costing £17.50, 50p off the cost of a coffee at Pret a Manger, a free eye test at Specsavers and a 'free' audiobook from the Amazon service Audible.

Octopus Energy has taken the top spot in Which?'s satisfaction survey yet again as small and medium sized energy suppliers dominate the rankings.

For better and for worse, our lives have been revolutionised by the internet. But a new high-tech innovation known as 5G is set to transform everything once again.

EE recorded the fastest median download speed across the UK at an impressive 36.5Mbps - nearly double as fast as the second best speed of 19.8Mbps, delivered by Vodafone.

Tesco customers are advised to check their Clubcard vouchers this month after the supermarket revealed that millions of unused vouchers are set to expire at the end of February.

Millions of travellers with pre-existing medical conditions should soon be able to find appropriate cover more easily, according to new rules from the Financial Conduct Authority.

Many might not know that matching two numbers on a Lotto ticket means that they are eligible for a free lucky dip ticket - with reader managed to bag £109 from three numbers this way.

The Big Six supplier decided to change the limit at the same time it announced it was moving from Paypoint to Payzone terminals, leaving customers with 15,000 fewer locations to top up.

Jeff Prestridge met Emma Thomson, who has just benefited from the financial safety net provided by protection insurance. Emma is unsure how she would have coped without it.

Thousands more British households decided to get their milk delivered last year in glass bottles - what's behind this booming trend? I go on a round to find out.

Following news that the budget airline is the latest to go bust, customers stranded abroad will be left wondering how they will get home - but a third of those are likely to be left vulnerable.

We challenged Ofgem after being inundated by letters from angry customers. In the worst cases, some had been made to wait up to a year for refunds of hundreds of pounds.

Nearly 1.5m first generation smart meters were installed in households across the country last year - despite the fact these installations do not count towards official target figures.

Insurance giant LV stopped selling travel insurance  last night in a move described by one expert as 'alarming'.

Britain's suppliers have joined with the Government to ensure that households across the UK will be able to keep the lights on whilst they are in self isolation.

The network said it will be offering unlimited minutes to landlines and other mobile numbers, plus a 10GB data boost, at no extra cost, for a month to those paying monthly as of Monday 23 March.

Comparison site Energyhelpline said the average £98 per month UK energy bill will rise by £29 for those working from home with children whose schools have closed.

Despite losing customers, Eon said its total earnings before tax and interest increased to £2.9bn in 2019, and it expects earnings to increase again in 2020.

Energy price tariffs are in a constant merry-go-round with suppliers constantly battling to pinch customers from each other. We show you how to win.

Frustrated customers said that when they went to cancel their season ticket on the website - as they no longer need it now they are working from home - they found they needed to print off a form to send on.

Confinement to home may stretch some relationships, but it could also encourage you to become a little less reliant on the weekly shop. Here, Toby Walne looks at some do-it-yourself food and drink ideas.

Major flaws with security checks have led to some banks mistakenly flagging first-time online grocery orders as suspected fraud. The payment is then blocked and the order is then often cancelled.

The cheapest energy tariffs have fallen by an average of £32, thanks to falling wholesale costs, new data has revealed at a time when consumption is likely to be higher with people at home more.

This is likely to be good news for households stuck with limited funds at the moment with 46% of homes able to claim an average of £136 each in outstanding credit.

Online shoppers have been pleased to discover that firms are adapting the way they are packaging their parcels, with many now able to fit the products into letterbox shaped containers.

Many vulnerable families say they are being forced to stay up into the small hours to try to secure a delivery spot as soon as they become available. Even then, they are not always successful.

Your letters and emails have been pulled together into a damning dossier which we will send to all major supermarkets and a parliamentary inquiry.

Some customers, including Chris (pictured), have reported receiving faulty items while others have not received online orders at all, according to Which?

A number of people have struggled to get refunds for faulty products or cancel expected deliveries with many failing to speak to anyone from the firms customer service team at all.

Customers are finding it all but impossible to get through to many firms by the phone. It means those calling to challenge a higher renewal price or ask about cheaper deals are left out in the cold.

Ahead of Amazon Prime Day 2019, we take a look at the best early deals on offer exclusively for Amazon Prime members, from £100 off an Echo Show to Amazon Music Unlimited for 99p