Martin Skrtel looks set for an Anfield exit this summer.
Middlesbrough have passed up on the opportunity to sign Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel, according to a report in the Northern Echo.
It seems that Skrtel’s future lies away from Anfield and Premier League new boys Boro were linked with a move for the Slovakian centre-back, but appear to have turned that proposition down.
Instead Skrtel looks destined for a move to Turkey having fallen down the pecking order under Jurgen Klopp at Anfield.
After sustaining a hamstring injury in December, Skrtel has struggled to reestablish himself in the side, with a disastrous second half display in the 3-2 defeat to Southampton in March appearing to be the final nail in the coffin when it comes to the 31-year-old’s future on Merseyside.
Dejan Lovren and Mamadou Sakho became the established centre-back pairing, but when Sakho was suspended by the club after testing positive for a doping violation by UEFA, Kolo Toure was the man who partnered Lovren, while Skrtel was played in games when the side was heavily rotated with the focus on Liverpool’s Europa League campaign at the time.
The report indicates that Skrtel could have been a third choice centre-back even with a move to the Riverside Stadium, with Daniel Ayala and Ben Gibson set to be given a chance at the start of the Premier League season, and it is unlikely that a formal approach will be made by Middlesbrough.
It shows that the priority for Skrtel at the moment is to find a club where he can get first-team football on a regular basis.
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