West Ham United tried to sign Fabian Ruiz from Napoli this summer but were knocked back immediately by the Serie A club.
That’s according to a report from Corriere dello Sport (print edition July 24th, page 13) who claim that Napoli refused to sell the 27-year-old and the Spaniard didn’t want to move to the London Stadium either.
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In spite of that, missing out on Ruiz would be a big blow for West Ham. The Napoli ace is a very good midfielder indeed.
David Moyes has already bolstered his central midfield ranks at the London Stadium this summer with the addition of Flynn Downes.
It seems as though the Scot is desperate for more though…
West Ham make Fabian Ruiz enquiry
David Moyes has very clearly identified his central midfield department as an area where he needs to drastically beef up before the start of the new season.
Corriere dello Sport (print edition July 24th, page 13) reckon that the Hammers have asked about signing the 26-year-old midfielder this summer.
Unfortunately for West Ham though, Napoli AND Ruiz knocked us back immediately.
Mondo Napoli claim that the Italian club want around €50 million (£43 million) for Ruiz this summer.
That’s an awful lot of money and we just can’t see West Ham paying anything like that for the 15-capped Spain international.
There is some good news for the Hammers though.
Ruiz is out of contract in Naples in the summer of 2023, so Napoli will surely have to lower their demands for the Spaniard, or risk losing him for nothing next year.
However, the real problem is that Fabian Ruiz allegedly isn’t keen to join West Ham.
It might just be hard to convince the Spaniard to change his mind on that one.
And as far as David Moyes is concerned, it will very much be a case of him moving on to the next target this summer.
Read other West Ham news:
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29-year-old striker says West Ham have just submitted a bid for him