Reports in Italy this afternoon (Thursday) suggest Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel is nearing a season long loan-move to Napoli, with a €10million option to make the deal permanent at the end of 2013/14.

Calciospot24.it report that Sportmediaset say Skrtel will complete the move in the next few days.

Skrtel looks to be following goalkeeper Pepe Reina, who swapped Anfield for the Serie A club earlier this week. Former Reds boss Rafa Benitez has been linked with bringing Skrtel to the South Italy side for some time.

The Slovakian international defender fell out of favour with Reds boss Brendan Rodgers last season, starting just four League games since the turn of the year.

Veteran defender Jamie Carragher was preferred to Skrtel to partner Daniel Agger in the Reds’ central defence, before his retirement at the end of the season.

Skrtel has made 206 appearances for Liverpool since signing from Zenit St Petersburg in January 2008, scoring 9 times.

Should Skrtel complete the move, as we proved yesterday, Liverpool will have slashed a massive £500,000 off their weekly wage bill.

Rodgers will surely make a new central defender his priority in the transfer market, with speculation increasing on a move for Schalke’s Kyriakos Papadopolous .

Liverpool signed up Ivorian international defender Kolo Toure on a free transfer from Manchester City earlier this summer, but the 32-year-old is expected to be used as back-up to Agger and a younger central defensive partner.

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