Liverpool are poised to complete the signing of Zenit St Petersburg’s Slovakian defender Martin Skrtel.
The 23-year-old, capped 15 times by his country, is on Merseyside undergoing a medical and the is expected to put pen to paper on a £6m deal.
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez sees Skrtel as a replacement for 34-year-old Sami Hyypia who has been deputising for injured Daniel Agger.
Skrtel joined Zenit in 2004 and has made more than 100 appearances in the Russian league.