Liverpool confirm Skrtel signing

Martin Skrtel has won 15 caps for Slovakia

Liverpool have confirmed the signing of Slovakian international defender Martin Skrtel from Zenit St Petersburg on a four-and-a-half-year contract.

The established centre-half has 15 caps for his country and Reds boss Rafael Benitez is predicting a bright future for the 23-year-old.

Skrtel becomes the most expensive defender in Liverpool's history with the fee thought to be around £6m.

"He is aggressive, quick and good in the air," said Rafael Benitez.

He is very competitive, but his mentality for me is very good Rafael Benitez

"I think he's a very good player for the future and also for the present," Benitez added on the Liverpool website.

"I think he is a player maybe not many people know about but he played against Everton for Zenit St Petersburg, and he is a centre-half that knows the English style.

"He is very competitive, but his mentality for me is very good."

The Reds boss also believes Skrtel is a player who will settle quickly into life at Anfield and put pressure on the likes of Jamie Carragher, Sami Hyypia and Daniel Agger for a starting role in the first team.

"He has quality and he can be a problem for them and a good problem for me if I need to decide who to play in the future," added Benitez.

"He has experience and enough quality for playing as soon as possible."