Like Williams, the Spanish-born Venezuelan international would seem to have more in common with Skrtel at first-glance. Being a tall (6’4”), rangy defender, known for his sharp, direct defensive style. That essentially translates as ‘rough and ready’ but it is unlikely that he would have been able to make it in La Liga, and make a name for himself as one of the best defenders in the league during this time if that’s all he brought to the table.
The Bilbao defender has twice been linked to Barcelona in the past, most recently in October 2011, something which makes you believe he must something more about him than just being a tall ‘hoof’-merchant. His pass completion rate is usually around the mid-70’s but given that the likes of Agger, Skrtel, Kompany and Koscielny set a very high-standard for ball-playing defenders in the English top flight last season, he would have to see a marked improvement to be considered a like-for-like replacement for Agger.
Given that we can all assume that Martin Skrtel is going to fill the role of the ‘Puyol’ physical presence in Rodger’s ‘tiki-taka’, that would suggest that whoever replaces Agger will be required to fill that ‘libero’ role; the ball-playing centre-back that controls the game like a playmaker. I really can’t see Amorebieta being that man but he would still be very comfortable in the Premier League.
