[ad_pod ]This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…A Turkish newspaper editor has claimed that Martin Skrtel is in talks with Rangers as he looks to join former teammate Steven Gerrard at Ibrox.
What’s the story?
Zeki Uzundurukan, who edits Turkish newspaper Fotomac, has stated that the Slovak is meeting with the Gers, after being linked heavily with the club ever since Gerrard came to Glasgow a year ago. Skrtel is a free agent having been released from Fenerbahce at the end of the last season.
The defender told the Slovakian press, via The Daily Record, that he has many offers from clubs across Europe. The former Liverpool centre-back named Basaksehir, Fenerbahce, Parma and Olympiakos, along with Rangers.
The 34 year-old’s £60,000-a-week wages foiled the Gers’ previous attempts to sign him, perÂThe Scottish Sun.
A waste of money
Despite it reaching August and still not having a club, Skrtel will demand a good wage if he were to sign for Rangers – he may not expect the £60,000-a-week he was on at Fenerbahce, but if it halted the deal before he clearly doesn’t want to take a huge cut.
Having brought in eight new players this summer, you’d imagine a good chunk of the wage budget has been filled by the likes of Filip Helander, Joe Aribo and Steve Davis.
On top of the likely high wages, at 34 the Slovak is hardly going to command a good fee if the club were to sell him on in the future. While no club signs a centre-back in their mid-thirties for their sell-on value, a player brought to Ibrox on his wages should hold some value other than just short-term gain.
Most importantly though, Rangers simply don’t need him. The signings of Helander and George Edmundson have added to Gerrard’s already strong options at centre-back. Alongside Connor Goldson and Nikola Katic, the pair have created a strong core of four reliable options for the manager to choose from.
Now is not the time to make a mistake in the transfer market for Rangers, who thus far have focused on building a well-rounded squad for reasonable prices. A 34 year-old addition in a position they are already strong in is the last thing they need.
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