Liverpool close to £6.5m Skrtel deal

omgukilledkenny SG

Liverpool are on the brink of breaking their transfer record for a defender with Rafa Benitez poised to fork out £6.5million for Martin Skrtel.

The Zenit St Petersburg centre-back was due to have a medical on Monday having arrived on Merseyside on Sunday evening, hours after Liverpool had been embarrassingly held 1-1 at Luton in the FA Cup third round.

Skrtel, who was last in Liverpool in early December to play for Zenit against Everton in the UEFA Cup, is rated as one of the most promising young defenders in Europe.

The deal will mark the end of Benitez's search for a new centre-half that began with the unsuccessful pursuit of Gabriel Heinze and which became increasingly urgent in recent weeks following injuries to both Daniel Agger and Sami Hyypia.

Skrtel, 23, has 15 caps and joined Zenit in 2004 and has gone on to make more than 100 appearances in the Russian league.

Benitez will be keen to see the deal for 6ft 4in tall Skrtel tied up as quick as possible so he can be added to the Liverpool squad, possibly even in time for the trip to Middlesbrough on Saturday.

a-Lost-9uY SG

uhmm a Russian Question

KrU SG

Good luck to Liverfool. Always buy lanjiao players.

a-Lost-9uY SG

lol indeed..
im sad le

Slipshade SG

Hmm. Goodbye to Mascherano then? Since the money's actually not used to buy him... Rolling Eyes

turbo_drift SG

Ok. Laughing

Meaning Maschreno gonna leave soon. Surprised

a-Lost-9uY SG

JUVENTUS boss Claudio Ranieri has admitted his interest in signing Momo Sissoko.

The Liverpool ace is out of favour at Anfield and Ranieri is keen to take him to Italy.

The ex-Chelsea boss said: "Sissoko is a player I like a lot and I know him well.

"He is a great player. I have had the pleasure of coaching him at Valencia."

Sissoko, 22, joined Liverpool in the summer of 2005 from Valencia and is under contract with the Merseyside club until June 2011.

a-Lost-9uY SG

LIVERPOOLS American owners face their trickiest decision to date over the next 24 hours.

Anfield chief executive Rick Parry will meet George Gillett and Tom Hicks in the States to finalise plans for the clubs new Stanley Park stadium.

But the future of boss Rafa Benitez will also be discussed, especially following Sundays disappointing FA Cup draw at Luton and the Kops falling off the Premier League pace.

Benitez has an uneasy truce with the Americans after an embarrassing fall-out over the Reds transfer policy.

So far, the silence from America over his future has been deafening and SunSport revealed how German legend Jurgen Klinsmann is waiting in the wings should he get the boot.

Now, after 11 months in charge, it is crunch time for Hicks and Gillett.

They must decide whether to offer a public reassurance to end the speculation or call time on Benitezs three-year reign.

There will be no knee-jerk reaction, though especially as the pair have just sanctioned Benitezs £6million signing of Slovak centre-back Martin Skrtel from Russian champions Zenit St Petersburg.

a-Lost-9uY SG

Liverpool claim Jamie Carragher was spat at and had beer thrown over him by Luton Town supporters.

The defender had been signing autographs after the 1-1 FA Cup third round draw at Kenilworth Road on Sunday.

Carragher was so incensed by the incident that he then attempted to climb into the stand to confront those concerned.

Liverpool have confirmed that the player has no case to answer with them regarding his actions as he was not to be blamed for the events.

Unfortunate

"At the end of the warm-down, Jamie went back to sign autographs for youngsters in the executive boxes," a club spokesman said.

"Unfortunately, he was subjected to a tirade of foul-mouthed abuse and also had beer thrown at him."

Despite the incident being witnessed by a number of fans from both sides, both the FA and Bedfordshire Police have received no complaints and any disciplinary action now looks unlikely.

Investigation

An FA spokesman said: "We have received no reports and we have had no complaints."

A Luton spokesman added: "It is being investigated by our safety officer. We cannot confirm or deny this incident took place at this time."

A spokeswoman for Bedfordshire Police said: "We have not had complaints or reports from either party."

a-Lost-9uY SG

£6.5million Skrtel passes Liverpool medical

Martin Skrtel has moved a step closer to becoming the most expensive defender in Liverpool's history after passing his medical.

A club record £6.5million fee has been agreed with Skrtel's Russian club, Zenit St Petersburg, and personal terms have also been agreed with the player.

Skrtel is now waiting for the deal to be rubber-stamped by Liverpool's owners.

The Slovakia international centre-back was manager Rafael Benitez's top target for the January transfer window, and the Reds boss is looking to get the transfer wrapped up as quickly as possible so he can incorporate Skrtel into the Liverpool squad.

But currently chief executive Rick Parry is in New York holding discussions with club owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks.

The meetings have been arranged to make a decision on what plan the Americans will agree on for the new stadium planned for Stanley Park.

It is also clear that talks are still going on regarding Liverpool's overall financing, with the Americans still searching for a deal to re-finance their original loans to buy the club, and to find the cash for the new stadium.

A decision is expected to be announced on the new stadium scheme tomorrow, and it is also expected that Skrtel's transfer will also be finalised for him to be included in Liverpool's squad to play Middlesbrough on Saturday.

zocoss SG

If only the Pool bosses had sold the club to Thaksin... Then money wouldn't have been a problem... Smile

Wonder why they didn't want to sell it to Thaksin then when he was interested to take-over?

a-Lost-9uY SG

SLOVAK centre-back Martin Skrtel will seal his £7million move to Liverpool today.

The Zenit St Petersburg star, 23, passed a medical and will become the Kops most expensive defender topping the £5.8m paid for Daniel Agger two years ago.

Danish star Agger has been out since September with a broken metatarsal.

His comeback for the reserves against Blackburn last night was washed out by torrential rain.

Agger still hopes to be in the squad for face Middlesbrough tomorrow.

He said: Im almost there, I just need playing time.

omgukilledkenny SG

Liverpool seal signing of Skrtel

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez has completed the signing of Slovakia defender Martin Skrtel from Russian outfit Zenit St Petersburg.

The 23-year-old has agreed a four-and-a-half-year deal and will provide essential cover at centre-back with Daniel Agger still working his way back from a broken foot and the 34-year-old Sami Hyypia coming to the end of his Anfield career.

a-Lost-9uY SG

Liverpoolfc.tv reveals 10 things you never knew about Martin Skrtel:

1. Skrtel was a competent hockey player and could have followed a career in the sport until his passion for football took over and - fortunately for us - he opted to ply his trade in the world of the beautiful game instead.

2. He has already had a taste of what it means to play football on Merseyside having featured for former club Zenit St Petersberg in a 1-0 UEFA cup defeat against Everton on December 5, 2007.

3. At the age of 23 Martin is already an established international with Slovakia. He has 15 caps to-date and scored his first and only goal for his country in a Euro 2008 Qualifier when he netted the opener in a 6-1 win at home to Cyprus.

4. A move to Liverpool has left him so excited he has had trouble sleeping. He said: "I have realised that in all likelihood a new era of my life is beginning. I struggled to get any sleep on Saturday night, and I normally have no problems sleeping."

5. The 6ft 4 defender came second in the list of the best football players named by Slovak Football Union and newspaper 'Pravda' in December 2006.

6. He was a key member of the Zenit side that clinched the 2007 Russian League title - their finest achievement since winning the USSR Championship in 1984.

7. If Liverpool qualify for next season's Champions League he could well come up against his former teammates as a result of their title success.

8. He becomes Liverpool's most expensive defender, with the fee surpassing the previous record for Daniel Agger in January 2006.

9. Martin was born on December 15, 1984, on the very same day as guitarist Joshua Third, of cult rock band The Horrors.

10. He rose through the ranks at Slovakian outfit FC Previdza and also played for FC Trencin before leaving his homeland for Zenit in 2004. He played 113 matches for the Russian side, scoring five goals in total.