Liverpool FC defender Martin Skrtel ended speculation after agreeing to sign a new contract at the club.
The Slovakian, who has spent eight years at the club, agreed to sign a new contract and ended speculation regarding his future.
Inter Milan were said to be very interested in signing the player but he has instead, decided to continue his career in England and at Liverpool.
“I confess that there were not mere rumours, the interest from Inter was real,a said Skrtela s agent, Karol Csonto. a But then the deal did not go ahead, there was contact made.
a The player had been thinking about his future and eventually opted to remain at Liverpool.”
Skrtel had one year remaining on his existing contract and had been the subject of interest from rival clubs. The central defender rejected Liverpool’s contract offer after calling it “unacceptable”.
However, it now is clear that the player will instead sign a new deal when he returns from holiday.
Here is how the fans reacted on Twitter, to the news of the player agreeing a new contract.
A section of fans was happy with the news as the need to have an experienced player in the team is important for the Reds, since Brendan Rodgers possesses such a young squad. With Steven Gerrard leaving, someone with a lot of “Liverpool” in the blood becomes imperative. The 30 year-old has played about 220 games for the club in the Premier League in the eight seasons he has spent at the club. Having a player with his experience, and experience at Liverpool could be important.
Like him or not, Skrtel is one of our most loyal and committed players and he’s a great player to have at our club. Very happy he’s staying
a Indigo (@IndigoLFC) June 18, 2015
Keeping hold of Skrtel makes sense as we have huge priorities elsewhere. And Loyal senior players inspire devotion among the young. a Liverpool FC 360 (@LFC_360) June 18, 2015
Glad that Skrtel is staying! Our best defender! I can’t think of any better available defenders than him! a Malik (@Malik_lfc19) June 18, 2015
Other fans didn’t take too kindly to the news. They felt that the Slovakian is only better out of the other available defenders and rewarding mediocrity isn’t moving forwards for the club.
Skrtel new contract is just a big pile of meh. I’ll never understand how he has survived this long at #LFC. a Dan Kennett (@DanKennett) June 18, 2015
Martin Skrtel must be the most successful fraud in Liverpool’s history. He’s outlasted everyone.
a – (@ThoseScouseLads) . June 18, 2015
Martin Skrtel the only ever defender who deserves to be called ‘fraud’ NO, he’s not hard as nails, oh, and he can’t win headers either btw.
a Connor (@ConnorwilsonLFC) June 18, 2015
Skrtel staying does offer Liverpool advantages in different ways, even if the player is unreliable in some ways (shirt tugging, constant penalty scares).
The Reds, who start the 2015-16 season at Stoke, have already agreed deals for James Milner, Danny Ings and Adam Bogdan and are close to signing Joe Gomez from Charlton Athletic.