Real Madrid’s pursuit of a prime target has been boosted after the player has turned down Barcelona and will potentially sign with their arch rivals.
Barcelona are looking to strengthen their midfield as its core begins to age. Ivan Rakitic, Sergio Busquets and Arturo Vidal have all crossed the 30 years mark while the younger players are still too inexperienced to be inheriting the reigns from such highly ranked players. Hence, Barca will spend some money on an experienced youngster.
Fabian Ruiz is the player chosen by the Blaugrana as they hope to rebuild their engine room over the next two transfer windows. The Spain international is on the books of Napoli where he is doing an incredible job since arriving from Real Betis. The fact that Ruiz played for Betis under Quique Setien under a very similar system to Barca’s makes him a prime target.
Spain’s reigning La Liga champions did make an attempt to sign Ruiz while he was at Real Betis, but the player preferred to not join the Camp Nou based outfit at that time amid fears that his playing time would be severely restricted. Moreover, Carlo Ancelotti’s advances seemed more attractive than those of Ernesto Valverde.
Diario GOL has claimed that the player prefers moving to Real Madrid over Barcelona despite interest from the Catalan giants. Los Merengues are also expected to be in the market for a midfielder as even their important players- Toni Kroos and Luka Modric- are slowing down as the months pass by.
Currently, Barca have the likes of Carles Alena and Riqui Puig on their roster, but the youngsters have not much experience to be regulars. While Frenkie de Jong and Arthur Melo have been recruited over the last year and are doing really well, it is important for Barcelona to sign a third youngster that will help them have a sorted midfield trio.