Skrtel turning down Barcelona move shows Rangers bid was unlikely to materialise

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Fenerbahce defender Martin Skrtel turned down a move to La Liga champions Barcelona during last month’s transfer window, according to Spanish outlet AS.

The Catalans are short on centre halves due to injuries and reportedly targeted the former Liverpool man in January but he turned it down because he didn’t want to be a backup option to Gerard Pique and Samuel Umtiti.

Sktrel is apparently settled in Turkey, which is bad news for another club who reportedly (Fanatik) wanted to sign him last month – Rangers.

Steven Gerrard reportedly wanted to engineer a reunion with his former Reds team-mate to bolster his Gers defence, but failed to land him.

And with the best will in the world, if Barcelona couldn’t convince Skrtel to move, then he was always unlikely to join Rangers last month.

It is an indicator of what Skrtel can still offer that Barcelona thought he could still do a job for them at the Nou Camp, and he would have brought that experience to Ibrox.

But he looks unlikely to link up with Gerrard north of the border now, and the main positive for Rangers to take from that is that their manager is targeting players who are wanted by one of the very best sides in Europe.