BENEVENTO, ITALY - OCTOBER 25: Fabian Ruiz of SSC Napoli during the Serie A match between Benevento Calcio and SSC Napoli at Stadio Ciro Vigorito on October 25, 2020 in Benevento, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)
According to Calciomercato (h/t ESPN), Fabian Ruiz is a priority signing for Real Madrid. The midfielder has caught the attention of several clubs with his displays at Napoli. Clubs in Spain, especially Real and Barcelona, have had quite some interest in the player for a while now.
Fabian Ruiz is a 24-year-old Spanish central midfielder who plays for Serie A side Napoli. A product of Real Betis’ academy, he spent 10 years in their youth teams. He was promoted to Betis’ B team in 2014 and went on to make 23 appearances for them.
A few seasons later, he was called up to the first-team but with chances hard to come by, he was sent on loan to Elche for the second half of the season. In total, he made 59 appearances for Betis, scoring thrice and assisting seven times (source – Transfermarkt).
It was only after his move to Napoli that he started gaining prominence. He is close to making 100 appearances for Napoli and so far, he has scored 11 goals and assisted 10. The Spaniard was a vital member of the Spain U-21 squad that won the UEFA European U-21 Championship in 2019. He is currently a part of the senior side and has 7 caps and 1 goal to his name.
Real Madrid have a decent squad at this point of time but a lot of their star players are ageing. They do have some fine young players to take over the mantle but it would seem too soon for them to slip into the shoes of these legends in a year’s time.
Their midfield lynchpins Luka Modric and Toni Kroos are 35 and 30 respectively. While Kroos looks like he can pull through for a few more years, Modric needs to be replaced sooner than later.
Fabian Ruiz looks like a readymade replacement for Modric. He is a silky dribbler of the ball and can get out of tight spaces with ease. Let’s not forget he has a brilliant eye for a pass. Real aren’t enjoying the best of starts to their season. They look short on creativity and goals.
The introduction of Ruiz can be a shot in the arm that they so desperately need. He can provide goals from the midfield and at 24, he is the future of the Spanish national team. Real Madrid need to sign Ruiz as soon as they can as he will prove to be a valuable addition to their squad.
