Martin Skrtel to Fenerbahce Transfer “Almost Done”

At the end of last season, rumour had it Martin Skrtel was set to make the move to Fenerbahce. Then, he got linked to what felt at times like half the clubs on the continent. Besiktas and Galatasaray and Wolfsburg and Roma were all, at various times, rumoured frontrunners. Plus there was, we were told, interest from China.

In the end, though, we kept coming back to Fenerbahce, who were rumoured to have agreed a £5.5M transfer fee earlier in the month and were said to only be waiting for Skrtel’s Euros with Slovakia to end before could finalise a deal with the eight-year, 319-game Liverpool veteran. That deal is now expected to be made official by the end of the week.

"The [Gregory] van der Wiel and Skrtel transfers are almost done," Fenerbahce president Aziz Tildirim told AMK Spor today, revealing the club’s new right half of defence for the coming season consisting of the 28-year-old right back, currently of Paris Saint-Germain, and 31-year-old Skrtel. The club expect to sell Robin van Persie to recoup funds.

If Mamadou Sakho is officially cleared by UEFA within the next two weeks as expected, Liverpool are unlikely to sign another centre half with Joel Matip joining the club on a free transfer and Joe Gomez ready to go again following a torn ACL last season. Lucas Leiva, if he remains at the club this season, could also provide added depth at the position.