LIVERPOOL defender Daniel Agger admits he has been surprised by the quality of Martin Skrtel, his rival for a first team place at Anfield – but he has warned the Slovakian to expect a battle for a starting place next season.
Agger started the season in Liverpool’s starting line-up, but after a torrid evening in Belgium against Standard Liege was left out in favour of Skrtel.
It was only when the Slovakian suffered a severe knee injury at Manchester City in October that he forced his way back into the first team picture again.
Ironically when Skrtel returned in January, it was Agger’s own injury problems which kept him on the sidelines until the last couple of matches of the season.
But now he is prepared to do battle once again.
“Martin is a top, top player. I was surprised when he came here (from Zenit St Petersburg) just how good he was,” explained Agger.
“I have to be honest and say I don’t know much about the Russian Premier League, so I did not really know what to expect when Martin came to the club.
“But he is a really good player and, just as importantly, he is a really good guy to have in the dressing room too. He’s a guy who is good to talk to away from the pitch and who I admire a lot because of the way he plays on it.
