According to a recent report by the Mirror, Inter Milan has offered Milan Skriniar an opportunity to double his wages by signing a new, long-term contract amidst interest from Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City.
The same source has also revealed that the Italian outfit have offered the player a new £60,000-a-week basic wage plus bonuses to try and convince him to commit his long-term future at the San Siro.
This recent development will be a bitter pill to swallow for Jurgen Klopp and would be a major blow to his chances of landing the defender next summer. Virgil Van Dijk has been one of the best defenders in the Premier League this season, but there are still some questions marks over the qualities of Joel Matip and Dejan Lovren. There is a real debate whether the pair deserve to play regularly for the Reds.
On a positive note, Joe Gomez had a terrific first half of this campaign, but there are some worries regarding his recent injury-record. Hence, Skriniar would have been a perfect addition to Klopp’s squad as he would have fit in well alongside Van Dijk at the centre of the Liverpool defence.
Skriniar is a competent defender inside his own penalty box and can be a substantial aerial presence at both ends of the pitch. The Slovak centre-back can also read the game well and is always prepared to put his body on the line for his team.
The Žiar nad Hronom born talent has featured in 37 games for Luciano Spalletti’s side this term and has one assist to his name in all competitions. More importantly, the Serie A defensive ace has made an average of 2.0 tackles, 0.9 interceptions and 4.1 clearances per match in the Serie A this season (Stats taken from Whoscored).
At 24, he is currently playing at his prime which means that Liverpool would be missing out on a player who has his best years ahead of him. Furthermore, Skriniar is versatile enough to play in central midfield as well which could have been a useful tool for Klopp next season. All in all, failing to land Skriniar will be a bitter blow for the Reds, so they should now concentrate on their other summer transfer targets in search of a world-class defensive partner for Van Dijk.
