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‘Fabián 2020’ is splashed on the front page of today’s edition of Mundo Deportivo and within the report it states the Napoli midfielder is a transfer ‘objective’ for Barcelona.

The Catalan club have been following him since before he moved to Serie A from Real Betis in 2018, and their technical secretary Eric Abidal travelled to Italy to watch the player in action against Lecce.

The La Liga winners had several opportunities to sign Fabián Ruiz in the past, which has already been reported by journalist Miguel Rico.

Despite failing to take those chances, Barcelona have never ‘lost sight’ of him and the club’s leaders believe the midfielder has the qualities to right fit in their system.

He can play in more than one position, but those at Barca view the Spain international to be a central option, mainly due to his presence and ball control.

After signing Arthur and Frenkie de Jong in the past two summer windows, Barcelona still want to strengthen their midfield since Sergio Busquets and Ivan Rakitić will turn 32, and Arturo Vidal will be 33, before the start of next season.

Mundo claims the Spanish champions will continue to monitor Fabián throughout this season as he has become their first midfield target for next summer. He is on ‘pole’, but Barcelona are aware that Napoli will not make it easy for them.

In addition to this, they may also face competition from other clubs as reports in Italy suggest Manchester City and Liverpool are looking at Fabián.