Contract Stalemate Continues For Former Liverpool Star As January Beckons

Xabi Alonso will be free to leave Real Madrid in the January transfer window as the former Liverpool star has been given permission to talk to other clubs.

Alonso has been in talks with Madrid over a new contract with his current deal running out in summer 2014 and Marca is reporting that with no new developments on the situation he is likely be talking to other clubs about a possible move in the winter.

Alonso has suffered multiple injury setbacks this year, breaking the fifth metatarsal bone in his foot just after making a comeback from a groin operation.

The former Liverpool man is currently out of action and was set a return date of around the end of November - though he is still unsure exactly when his comeback will be. He will then have just over a month to prove himself a worthy purchase if he hopes to secure a lucrative move away from the Spanish capital.

Over the summer reports swelled that he might be set for a return to Liverpool or possibly Chelsea. The 31-year-old spent five years on Merseyside before securing a move to Madrid in 2009 and many have claimed that he's never truly been replaced.

But Alonso insisted in July that a Premier League return was not on the cards, saying: "No way, no chance," when asked about the possibility of coming back to England.

But with no talks over a new deal and Madrid looking to be happy to rid themselves of the Spain international at the end of his contract, a return to the Premier League could be back on the cards.