Arsenal are interested in signing Napoli midfielder Fabian Ruiz, according to recent reports.
The Gunners are in need of a top-class centre-midfielder this summer as Mohamed Elneny is into the final five months of his contract at the Emirates Stadium whilst Granit Xhaka continues to be linked with a move away from the club.
Xhaka signed a new contract last summer, but football.london has learnt that he is open to moving to Serie A giants AS Roma if a deal can be done at the end of the current campaign.
Giallorossi manager Jose Mourinho is also said to rate the Swiss international highly after trying to bring him to the Italian side last summer before a move eventually collapsed as the two clubs were unable to agree on a fee for the 29-year-old.
Now, the north Londoners are being linked to Ruiz, with The Mirror reporting that the club are running provisional checks on the Spain international as they begin to weigh up a move for him in the coming months.
The report also claims that representatives from Arsenal have met with the player's agents in an attempt to understand his demands.
Ruiz's current deal at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium expires in less than 17 months and if Steve McManaman's comments are anything to go by, he would be a top-class signing for the Gunners.
"Very talented lad. It’s always difficult to go away from your home country and perform like he has so it’s only natural that big teams are looking at him," the former England international told BT Sport back in 2019.
"He had a very good game. He very rarely lost the ball and kept it nicely."
Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti also rated Ruiz extremely highly, heaping praise on the 25-year-old when he coached Napoli back in 2018.
"Fabian was one of the best on the field. He is a great player and showed fantastic pace and presence. When we have the ball, he is very focused and knows his position so well," Ancelotti told Sky Sport Italia.
"Even if he is playing in a slightly different position to last year, he has settled in so well. He is a big signing for our season. He is a player who is massively underestimated, although certainly not by Betis or us, as we paid €30m for him."
