:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/31080477/465743901.0.jpg)
Towards the end of the transfer window last summer, rumours flew suggesting Martin Skrtel was bound for Napoli. A summer move never transpired, but as the months passed, rumours that Skrtel would head to Napoli in January surfaced. That move never came to pass, either. With another transfer window on the horizon, though, there's always the chance to float those same rumours yet again, even if Skrtel's agent says there's nothing to them.
"I have not heard anything from Napoli about Martin," Karol Csonto told Italy's Calciomercato, further suggesting that the only knowledge he had of any potential Napoli deal for his client came from reading the papers. "I read that they tried, but I have not actually heard anything. His relationship with Rafa Benitez? There is nothing to add about this. What I can say is that Martin Skrtel will not be going to Napoli. Skrtel will remain at Liverpool."
Last summer, with Skrtel out of favour and with a pair of senior centre halves coming in, a reunion with his former manager made a certain sense. However, as the season nears its end, an increasingly confident Skrtel has rediscovered his form to become Liverpool's top defender. He also now seems generally comfortable on the ball, removing the weakness from his game many thought signalled he had no future under Brendan Rodgers.
It may be nearly impossible to predict what will happen in the transfer market with any kind of certainty, but with Skrtel re-establishing himself as Liverpool's top defender—and developing into a capable player with the ball at his feet—there's little reason bar laziness for rumours linking him to Napoli to resurface. And if at the third time of asking there's still nothing to those rumours as Skrtel's agent insists, perhaps it's time to put them to bed for good.
