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Sunday must have been a bit of an odd day for Federico Fernandez. First he had to watch from the Argentina bench as his replacement in the starting lineup Martin Demichelis get horribly exposed over and over before Germany scored the World Cup winning goal through his area. Then, not long after collecting his runners-up medal, rumors broke that Swansea City had tried to make a move to purchase him from Napoli.
It's a move that makes a degree of sense for Swansea. They need to get better defensively and get people excited about the upcoming season, so why not sign a good defender from the World Cup runners up? Fernandez wouldn't command high wages, which suits Swansea fine, and is good enough to slot straight in to a regular role in their rotation. Plus, with Napoli having all but signed Michu on a loan from Swansea, why not try to get one of their players?
Trouble is, such a move makes no sense of any kind for Napoli. Fernandez enjoyed a top-notch season for the partenopei last season, really blossoming under Rafa Benitez for the first time since joining Napoli in 2011. His partnership with Raul Albiol got better and better as the year went on, and later on in the season Fernandez was probably Napoli's best defender once Albiol wore down.
Fernandez has become a key cog in Rafa's defense in the last 12 months, and while Napoli could be decently served by buying a defender better than him, there's absolutely no reason to sell the Argentine right now. Even if Napoli did buy an upgrade, they'd probably keep Fernandez as he's young, he's cheap, and he's good. Why sell him with the Champions League on the horizon and no clear replacement on the roster?
This is one that was probably dead before it ever really started. There's talk of a contract extension in the works, and Fernandez is just far too important to Napoli right now to consider selling for anything less than an exorbitant fee. Hopefully Napoli fans can look forward to watching him operate on the back line for years to come.