El Cholo wants a midfield reshuffle

Atletico Madrid have been looking for a new midfielder ever since they sold Thomas Partey to Arsenal. Their boss Diego ‘El Cholo’ Simeone wanted the club to sign Napoli’s Spanish star Fabian Ruiz right away to bolster the squad. Unfortunately for La Liga leaders, Napoli’s energetic president Aurelio De Laurentis decided not to let the Spaniard leave Naples. However, this might change soon.

The 24-year-old Ruiz, who started his career at Real Betis, is still very much on the Atleti shopping list. However, it seems that Simeone will have to get rid of some of his old players to make space for a new one after all.

Saul Niguez has lost his place at Wanda Metropolitano and is looking to leave in order to get regular first-team football. Should Bayern act on their interest in Saul, this would enable Simeone to finally acquire his target.

Another option for a midfield change is a possible sale of Marcos Llorente. Manchester United have already started negotiations to bring the Spain international to Old Trafford but the fee set by the Madrid club is proving an obstacle at the moment. Namely, Atleti have put a price tag of incredible 120,000,000 euros (around $142million) on the player in an attempt to keep a hold of their prized asset.

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Fabian Ruiz is doing well for Napoli in the meantime. He is keeping quiet although he is believed to be keen on a return to his homeland and another opportunity to test himself in the Champions League, the competition Napoli have no chance of qualifying for. He still has over two years left on his contract, which puts the Neapolitans in a strong position in any negotiations regarding the transfer fee.

There might be some more twists in this story because there are report emerging about Ruiz being wanted by the two biggest clubs in Spain - Real Madrid and Barcelona, which could start a bidding war over the talented midfielder.

Ruiz has been with the Italian team since July 2018 and has won the Coppa Italia last season. He was capped nine times by Spain and has also won the 2019 European Under-21 Championships for his country.