Newcastle United boss Rafa Benitez wants star defender but face competition from Celtic, Turkish giants demand £4.7m

Newcastle United have joined the race for Fenerbahce defender Martin Skrtel according to reports in Turkey.

Fotomac report that the Newcastle boss Rafa Benitez is keen on Skrtel and has made signing him a priority.

Per the source, enquiries have been made for Fenerbahce.

The Yellow Canaries are demanding £4.7 million [€5.5m] for the 32-year-old defender.

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Skrtel does have years of Premier League experience under his belt having spent eight years at Liverpool.

In fact it was Benitez who signed the centre-back during his time in charge of the Reds.

“Everyone knows that Rafa Benitez is one of the top coaches in football so it was really good for me that he wanted me,” Skrtel was quoted as saying by the Liverpool Echo in 2008.

“When I met him for the first time I realised just how much he wanted me and that made a positive influence on me to come to Liverpool.”

Newcastle do however, face competition from Celtic and Swansea for his signature.

Skrtel does have another two-years remaining on his Fenerbahce contract but the club are willing to sell if their valuation is matched.

The Slovakian international was a first team regular for Fenerbahce this season.

The experienced defender scored three times and provided two assists in 49 games for the Yellow Canaries in all competitions this season.

Fenerbahce finished the season in third-place and will compete in the Europa League next season.