Rangers boss Steven Gerrard hopes to finally land long term target Martin Skrtel after launching a third attempt to bring the Slovakian international to Ibrox.
Record Sport can reveal that Gerrard has held positive preliminary talks with the 34-year-old who is now a free gent after running down a huge contract worth in excess of £60k-a-week with Turkish big spenders Fenerbahce.
And sources in Bratislava last night confirmed that Skrtel is now set to travel to Glasgow to open contract discussions face-to-face with the club’s money men over the course of the ‘next few days’.
We first revealed more than a year ago that Gerrard had pin-pointed his former Liverpool team mate and close friend as a priority signing in the days leading up to his own appointment as the Rangers boss.
But the deal failed to get off the ground because the club could not get close to matching Skrtel’s massive wages in Istanbul or meeting Fenerbahce’s £5m price tag.
Gerrard tried again during the January transfer window when it appeared the Turks might have been willing to allow the defender to move on as a free agent.
But at that point Skrtel’s agent Karol Csonto admitted to Record Sport that his client was unwilling to swallow a wage cut of more than 50 per cent in order to push the deal through.
Now, though, with Skrtel out of contract and looking for a new challenge, Gerrard is determined not to lose out on his old pal for a third time.
And, perhaps crucially, this time the player himself looks set to answer the call from his former Anfield skipper.
A source in Slovakia said last night: “There have been some new conversations and we will see in the next few days if this deal can happen.”
Our source also confirmed that Skrtel has agreed to travel to Scotland in person in order to hold signing talks but it’s unclear if these discussions will be placed on hold until next week, after Gerrard and his squad have returned from their pre-season training camp in the Algarve.
Skrtel spent eight years as a team mate of Gerrard’s on Merseyside after joining the club in a £9.5m move from Zenit St Petersburg in January 2008.But the pair only won one trophy during that time, lifting the League Cup in 2012.
The hugely experienced defender has also clocked up 103 caps for Slovakia in an international career spanning 15 years.
Record Sport can reveal that Gerrard has held positive preliminary talks with the 34-year-old who is now a free gent after running down a huge contract worth in excess of £60k-a-week with Turkish big spenders Fenerbahce.
And sources in Bratislava last night confirmed that Skrtel is now set to travel to Glasgow to open contract discussions face-to-face with the club’s money men over the course of the ‘next few days’.
We first revealed more than a year ago that Gerrard had pin-pointed his former Liverpool team mate and close friend as a priority signing in the days leading up to his own appointment as the Rangers boss.
But the deal failed to get off the ground because the club could not get close to matching Skrtel’s massive wages in Istanbul or meeting Fenerbahce’s £5m price tag.
Gerrard tried again during the January transfer window when it appeared the Turks might have been willing to allow the defender to move on as a free agent.
But at that point Skrtel’s agent Karol Csonto admitted to Record Sport that his client was unwilling to swallow a wage cut of more than 50 per cent in order to push the deal through.
Now, though, with Skrtel out of contract and looking for a new challenge, Gerrard is determined not to lose out on his old pal for a third time.
And, perhaps crucially, this time the player himself looks set to answer the call from his former Anfield skipper.
A source in Slovakia said last night: “There have been some new conversations and we will see in the next few days if this deal can happen.”
Our source also confirmed that Skrtel has agreed to travel to Scotland in person in order to hold signing talks but it’s unclear if these discussions will be placed on hold until next week, after Gerrard and his squad have returned from their pre-season training camp in the Algarve.
Skrtel spent eight years as a team mate of Gerrard’s on Merseyside after joining the club in a £9.5m move from Zenit St Petersburg in January 2008.But the pair only won one trophy during that time, lifting the League Cup in 2012.
The hugely experienced defender has also clocked up 103 caps for Slovakia in an international career spanning 15 years.
