A few days ago, we covered a story suggesting that Arsenal hold an interest in Napoli’s Fábian Ruiz.
This came from Italy, with Corriere dello Sport suggesting the Gunners had sent ‘subliminal messages’ about their desire to sign the Spaniard, which would make a lot of sense after their pursuit of Arthur.
After all, the Gunners pursued the Brazilian for pretty much all of January without wanting to meet Juventus’ expectations to allow the deal to go through, and it’s fair to say that Ruiz would be a worthy alternative.
The good news for Arsenal in all this, if they have indeed moved on from Arthur, is that the Napoli midfielder could become available in the summer.
He told Canale Otto, relayed by Area Napoli: “A rumour has reached me about Fábian Ruiz. I understand that the player has no desire to sign the renewal with Napoli. The Spaniard’s intention would be to end his relationship with the Campania club and then be free to move elsewhere.”
This sounds like he wants to run down his contract, but if there is one person who won’t want that to happen, it’s Napoli’s owner Aurelio De Laurentiis.
With money tight these days, it’s clear that the club president will want to make as much money as possible from his stars if they are to leave, and Ruiz will be no different.
What his price will be isn’t mentioned, but the previous Corriere article hinted it would be more than the £40m rejected from Newcastle in January.
