Newcastle ‘failed in £33m Fabian Ruiz transfer bid’ and are set to fight Man Utd and Arsenal for Napoli star in summer
NEWCASTLE failed in a £33million bid for Napoli’s Fabian Ruiz, Italian reports claim.
The central midfielder has also attracted attention from Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool.
But according to Corriere dello Sport, it was Newcastle who made the first move but had a £33m offer rejected.
At the end of the season, Ruiz will have only one year left on his Napoli contract.
The Italian giants are said to be hoping for a renewal but are prepared to sell in the summer to ensure they do not lose the midfielder for free.
Ruiz, also linked with Barcelona and Real Madrid, has made 22 appearances this season, with all five of his goals coming in the league.
Although Newcastle missed out on the 25-year-old, they did bring in five new players to help boost their survival hopes.
They quickly swooped to capture Kieran Trippier, 31, from Atletico Madrid to bolster their backline.
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Then a £25million move for striker Chris Wood, 30, from Burnley followed to add more goal-threat after Callum Wilson’s injury.
Things then remained quiet as deadline day loomed large until they finally made another breakthrough.
Brazilian international midfielder Bruno Guimaraes, 24, finally completed his transfer to Newcastle on Sunday in a £43m deal.
They kicked off deadline day by signing left-back Matt Targett, 26, on loan until the end of the season from Aston Villa.
And despite failing to get Jesse Lingard, 29, in from Manchester United, Newcastle still managed to get another new face before the deadline.
They completed a £13m deal for Brighton defender Dan Burn, 29.