An irritated Martin Skrtel has revealed that he has turned down a new contract offer from Liverpool because it made him feel ‘uneasy’. The veteran defender’s current deal expires at the end of next season and it appears as if we’re now going to have a fight on our hands to convince him to stay.
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Liverpool transfer news
According to the Daily Mail, the defender is annoyed that we have offered him a deal commonly used for ‘older players’, most likely consisting of a lower basic wage and a higher number of appearance related bonuses.
They quote him as saying: “It’s unacceptable for me. I think that such contracts are offered to players who are much older than me or players who have had some health problems.
“The contract, which was presented to me, makes me uneasy, so I did not sign it. There has been some speculation about the interest of other clubs for my person, but they are currently being addressed.”
If this is indeed the case, then he has a point. While he might be into his 30s now, the Slovakian has been an integral part of our side under Brendan Rodgers and as such should have a contract at least matching those of Mamadou Sakho and Dejan Lovren – both of whom are behind him in the current pecking order.
The Mail believe that Skrtel will have to play in at least 80% of our matches to be entitled to his full salary, which of course leaves him little in the way of cover should he sustain an injury at any point in our campaign.
This news will come as something of a body-blow to the Reds management and supporters alike. Skrtel has been comfortably our most consistent defender over the last two seasons and the prospect of losing him is both demoralising and extremely concerning.
Come on Brendan, let’s get this one done!