Liverpool have today confirmed the signing of Slovakian international defender Martin Skrtel from Zenit St Petersberg on a four and a half year contract. The established centre half has 15 international caps for his country and Reds boss Rafael Benitez is predicting a bright Anfield future for the 23-year-old.
"I think he is a player maybe not many people know about but he played against Everton for Zenit St Petersberg, and he is a centre half that knows the English style," said Benitez.
"He is aggressive, quick, is good in the air and I think he's a very good player for the future and also for the present.
"He is very competitive, but his mentality for me is very good. Watching him in some games his mentality is similar to Carra so I think it's very positive for the team.
"Our scouts first knew of him when he was playing for Slovakia and we have been monitoring him since the start of the season.
"We saw him play against Everton in the UEFA Cup match at Goodison and during the last few months we have been checking him closely.
"I don't think he will be ready for Middlesbrough because the Russian league season ended more than a month ago and the last competitive game Martin played was in the UEFA Cup in December.
"He has been training but I don't think that will be enough. He needs to get to know his team-mates and the league but I will look at him in training because he has a very good physical condition."
The Reds boss also believes Skrtel is a player who will settle quickly into life at Anfield and put pressure on the likes of Jamie Carragher, Sami Hyypia and Daniel Agger for a starting role in the first team.
"He has quality and he can be a problem for them and a good problem for me if I need to decide who to play in the future," added Benitez.
"He has experience and enough quality for playing as soon as possible."
Skrtel will wear squad number 37 at Anfield.
Quelle: http://www.liverpoolfc.tv
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