Liverpool Reject Napoli Bid for Martin Skrtel

Breaking news is coming in across the wire with reports all over the place that Liverpool have rejected an approach from Italian side Napoli for Slovakian defender Martin Skrtel for a few somewhere in the region of £10mil.

The center back has fallen behind new addition Kolo Toure in the Anfield pecking order and speculation has been rife that his time at the club is done. New Napoli boss Rafa Benitez – who took former Reds number one goalkeeper Pepe Reina on loan earlier this summer – is a known admirer of the big Slovakian having signed up during his time in the Anfield hot seat. Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has been scouring the transfer market for a new center back all summer and it’s believed that Skrtel would have been allowed to leave if some new blood was able to be brought in; this no longer appears to be the case.

With Sebastian Coates facing a long injury layoff after suffering a knee injury while on international duty with Uruguay, the club now appears reluctant to let Skrtel leave even if the Reds are successful bringing in another central defender. Both Andre Wisdom and Martin Kelly are able to deputize in the center if needed, but neither is ready for prime time with both having spent more time filling in for Glen Johnson on the right flank than playing in their natural position in the middle. While the club have yet to comment on the offer, it’s believed that they’ll be spending the last days of the transfer market feverishly trying to bring in recruits. Both Schalke 04 defender Kyriakos Papadopoulos and Sporting Lisbon youngster Tiago Ilori have been heavily linked with a move to Merseyside, but nothing has materialized as of yet. More on this as we inevitably ship Martin off to Italy on-loan while still shelling out for a large chunk of his wages…