Steven Gerrard has been appointed Rangers manager – and wants to bring his former Liverpool team-mate Martin Skrtel to the Scottish Premiership.
The reasons behind Rangers’ decision to hand 37-year-old Steven Gerrard the first managerial job of his post-playing career have been the subject of much debate.
But while the former Liverpool skipper lacks any sort of experience in top level coaching barring a year’s spell in charge of the Reds’ U18s side, fans and pundits alike have suggested that having a man with his reputation in the dugout could give Rangers a far greater pulling power in the transfer market.
And while this has perhaps been a little overstated, the identity of Gerrard’s first transfer target certainly suggests that he will not be the only big name arriving at Ibrox this summer.
The Daily Record is reporting that Gerrard has already put together a list of transfer targets – and his first port of call could be to reunite with his former Anfield team-mate Martin Skrtel in Glasgow, having being assured that he has sufficient funds to bring in the players he wants this summer.
At 33, Skrtel’s peak years may be behind him and fans may draw worrying comparisons between him and Joey Barton, Niko Kranjcar, Philippe Senderos and Bruno Alves, all of whom arrived at Rangers past their best and proved to be major disappointments.
But Skrtel is still an excellent defender and he has enjoyed a super season in Turkey with Fenerbahce. His side are third in the Super Lig table and the Slovakian warrior, who battled on with a horror head wound against Kasimpasa last weekend, remains one of their most influential players.
If he is Gerrard’s first signing, this most risky of appointments would be one step closer to being justified.
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