Everton looking to sign Sporting Lisbon’s Marat Izmailov; Martin Skrtel signs a new 2-year extension at Liverpool
English Premier League club Everton may be in for a surprise opportunistic move for Russian International Marat Izmailov. It is reported that the midfielder is no longer happy at Sporting Lisbon and is looking to leave following a bust up with Paulo Sergio, the team coach.
Everton, like most of the Premier League clubs outside the top 5, do not have huge spending budget for the summer and are looking to sign the player for a bargained price. The asking price has reportedly dropped to half; it was 10 million pounds to begin with, but after the incident with the manager, the club is willing to let go Izmailov for £4 Million.
The Merseyside club do know a little about the front man; he caused a lot of problems for Everton last season when he played for Sporting Lisbon against them in the Europa League.
The Toffees’ manager David Moyes already has a capable midfield with of Mikel Arteta, Steven Pienaar, Marouane Fellaini, and Russian Diniyar Bilyaletdinov all in the squad. However, Izmailov would be a welcome addition to the squad as he can add a lot of quality on the wings.
Meanwhile Liverpool’s Martin Skrtel has extended his contract at Anfield by 2 years. The announcement was made by the club on its official website.
The defender from Slovakia had 2 years on his current contract, but his new deal would see him stay at the club till the end of 2014.
The decision by Skrtel to extend his stay comes as welcome news for Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson, following the pledge by Steven Gerrard and his star front-man Fernando Torres.
Skrtel said on Liverpool’s website that when he came to Liverpool, he had a number of critics. He said that many believed that he would not be able to last at a club like Liverpool. He added that during his time at Anfield, he has proven that he can mix it with the best and is happy to extend his stay. Skrtel said that he feels very much at home with Liverpool, and the new management and team look to be heading in the right direction. He said that the new manager has enormous plans for the club and he believes strongly in him. The Slovakian international said that signing a new deal gives him confidence that he would be able to stay and perform with all his commitment to the club and play as many games as possible.
He said that there is always room for improvement; the defender said that he knows the areas where he needs to work hard and he will do everything he can to do that.
The 25 year old joined Liverpool in 2008 for 6 million pounds from Zenit St. Petersburg. In the last two years, he has established himself as one of the key men in the Reds’ set-up. Skrtel has benefitted by playing in the centre of defence alongside the experienced Jamie Carragher.
Skrtel was plagued by injury at the end of last season; he broke his foot, but did recover in time to represent Slovakia in the World Cup in South Africa. The new season will see a whole new Liverpool team it seems with the new manager Roy Hodgson at the helm and the signing of Joe Cole and Milan Ivanovic. Liverpool finished a disappointing 7th last season, but the team looks determined to atleast get back the Champions League spot this year.
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