Behind Mamadou Sakho and Dejan Lovren in Jurgen Klopp‘s defensive pecking order, Martin Skrtel could look to leave Liverpool this summer.
Skrtel started the season as Brendan Rodgers’ first-choice centre-back, but injury and the form of his colleagues, namely Sakho and Lovren, has pushed the Slovak out of Klopp’s starting lineup.
Perhaps most significantly, despite Klopp making 10 changes for Sunday’s 2-1 win away to Bournemouth, Skrtel failed to make the matchday squad.
Having trained with the first team all week, Skrtel was omitted in favour of Kolo Toure and an out-of-position Lucas Leiva, with Sakho taking up a spot on the substitutes’ bench.
With Joel Matip arriving on a free transfer this summer, and Joe Gomez set to return from injury, it is conceivable that Skrtel would find himself vying with Lucas for the role of fifth-choice centre-back in 2016/17.
As a result, the 31-year-old is believed to be weighing up his options this summer, and could leave Merseyside after eight years.
ESPN FC’s Peter O’Rourke cites a “source close to the player” when reporting that Skrtel is considering a move away from Liverpool.
Furthermore, it is claimed that “a number of Premier League and foreign clubs are actively monitoring his situation.”
Skrtel has garnered interest from the likes of Inter Milan and Napoli in the past, with a move to Serie A mooted last summer.
But signing a new deal before the 2015/16 campaign, Skrtel’s future looked to be sealed.
Klopp’s arrival has changed that, however, and with Skrtel’s lack of quality compounded by a miserable second-half performance away to Southampton in March, a move away would be sensible.
A fifth-choice defender on first-choice wages makes little economical sense for the Reds, with the funds better invested elsewhere ahead of Klopp’s first full campaign at Anfield.
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