As per a recent report by Calciomercato, Liverpool are among a number of clubs looking to secure the signature of Fabian Ruiz from Napoli. The same source has mentioned that Klopp’s side will face stiff competition from Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich in pursuit of the Serie A midfield ace.
Ruiz will get the chance to audition his skills when the Reds face off against the Naples outfit in the UEFA Champions League next Tuesday. Even if the reigning European champions decide to make a move for the Spanish playmaker, Carlo Ancelotti might not be too keen to part ways with his prized asset on the cheap.
Just why is the 23-year-old rated so highly?
Ruiz’s Impressive Spell At The San Paolo Stadium
The 23-year-old has enjoyed a rich vein of form for the Italian outfit after his move from Real Betis last summer.
The Spaniard has scored seven goals and grabbed three assists in 42 appearances for Napoli thus far (via Whoscored).
However, he has made a slow start to this campaign, but with the matches coming thick and fast after the international break, Ruiz will get plenty of opportunities to net his first goal of this campaign in the coming weeks.
The Serie A rising star has also earned three international caps for Spain but is yet to open his goal-scoring account for his country.
He has put up some good performances in a Spain shirt though.
Fabián Ruiz for Spain during his time on the pitch vs. Germany:
• Most shots (4)
• Most passes (71)
• Most touches (93)
• Most tackles made (5)
• Most take-ons completed (5)And a goal to go with it. #U21EURO pic.twitter.com/PA5070Bnwt
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) June 30, 2019
What Would The Spanish Talent Bring To Merseyside?
Ruiz is currently one of the best midfielders in the Italian top-flight as he can score some important goals for his side. The 23-year-old is not afraid of the spotlight as he can perform under pressure even when the situation gets dire on the field.
The former Real Betis prospect is moderately paced, but his lack of speed doesn’t stop him from making some intelligent runs from midfield.
He can also link up play well with others around him and is a potent goal-threat from long range. The Spaniard’s ability to influence the game at both ends of the pitch make him a complete midfielder.
In terms of personnel, Klopp will be getting a new dimension to his midfield options. Georgino Wijnaldum who contributed the most numbers to goal (as per Whoscored) out of Klopp’s central midfield options still lacks well behind Fabian Ruiz’s tally.
Wijnaldum’s tally of three goals and no assists last season pales in comparison to Fabian Ruiz’s five goals and four assists as per Whoscored.
He doesn’t just know how to score alone but has a great passing range. In terms of passing, his accuracy of 81.8% falls slightly short of Wijnaldum with 91.1% accuracy but the Spaniard makes up for it by having more significant number of passes per game (66.6 to 50.5) via Whoscored.
Furthermore, Ruiz’s ability to pick out a pass from range is unrivalled. Perhaps why his 3.2 long balls per game and 2.3 key passes per game is miles ahead that of Wijnaldum at 1.6 long balls per game and 0.7 key passes per game.
His ability to pick out a pass from distance will have the Liverpool front trio licking their lips with him playing in midfield. In a nutshell, should the Spaniard the move to Anfield and replicate his form/numbers at the club – he will definitely walk into the starting XI uncontested and would be a significant addition to the Liverpool squad.
Conclusion
Klopp will benefit from acquiring a talented midfielder like Ruiz as he has what it takes to become a future star in European football. However, the jury is still out on whether the Spanish international would be able to cope with the physical toll of English top-flight football.
