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Liverpool grab two new defenders, so is Skrtel on his way to Naples?

If there's no longer room for Martin Skrtel at Liverpool, will Rafa Benítez finally land the Slovak for Napoli?

Michael Dodge

Ever since Rafa Benítez rolled up in Naples, practically every player ever under his tutelage at Liverpool has been linked to Napoli. But the links to Reds defender Martin Skrtel have been particularly strong, with rumors ebbing and flowing throughout the summer.

Skrtel fell out of favor with Brendan Rodgers last season, but with Sebastián Coates set to miss months with knee injury, Liverpool decided to keep the Slovak around. But now the club have signed Portuguese center back Tiago Ilori and French defender Mamadou Sakho so it's quite possible Skrtel could be on his way out once again.

The centerback may have been rather unimpressive in his last couple seasons, but he put in a good shift during Liverpool's win over Manchester United on Sunday. But at this point, Napoli could bring in a fence post dunked in heavy cement and it would be an upgrade for the back line. Despite having somehow earned Rafa's confidence, Miguel Britos has looked absolutely awful, and was at least partially to blame for Chievo's opening goal on Saturday.

There's just a few hours left before the transfer window closes. If Napoli can't woo away Skrtel, and can't convince Cagliari to give up on Davide Astori, Rafa would do well to repair his relationship with Paolo Cannavaro. For the sake of all of us that have to watch Napoli and would prefer not to have regular heart attacks.