Newcastle United are set to beat Rangers to the signing of Martin Skrtel after hijacking their pursuit, according to the Sunday Post.
The Scottish newspaper claim the Premier League club are poised to “end any remaining hopes” the Glasgow giants had of reuniting the centre-back with his former colleague Steven Gerrard.
This comes after the Sun reported that Newcastle representatives have jetted out to Turkey to hold talks with Skrtel’s club Fenerbahce.
OPINION
Commanding, battle hardened and vastly experienced, Skrtel would be a fine summer signing for Newcastle, although fans will hope has been targeted as back-up for first-choice pair Jamaal Lascelles and Florian Lejeune rather than as a replacement for either of them. The word in Turkey is that Fenerbahce are ready to cash in on the 33-year-old with a year remaining on a contract that Fotomac report is worth around £3.4million-a-year, or £65,000-a-week. That is just about affordable for the Premier League club, but certainly out of reach for Rangers, who operate on a budget similar to a mid-table Championship club rather than a true big hitter. Some will claim Skrtel is past his best, but he is a wily operator who is also renowned for his professionalism and almost beyond-the-limits commitment to the cause. Should a deal be done – as now appears likely – the Slovakia international would be a decent bit of business.
