Real Madrid: Fabián contract talks on hold until the end of the season, says agent

Fabián Ruiz has been at the top of Real Madrid's list of priority signings since last summer and is also high up on Barcelona's agenda for next season. Napoli hope to hang on to the Spanish midfielder for another season at least - his contract runs until June 2023 and there is no buy-out clause although for now, negotiations to offer the player a new deal have been put on hold The player's agent Álvaro Torres explained the situation in an interview with Calciomercato.it: “A few months ago, we decided to leave the issue of Fabián's contract to one side. We can return to it at the end of the season. There won't be any new conversations regarding his contract until all of the  competitions have finished and we don't know when that will be. Right now, he is 100% focused with Napoli,” the player's agent said.

Torres, who is General Director of You First Sports agency, confirmed that several top European clubs have made enquiries about Fabián's situation: “It's understandable that some of the big clubs in Europe are interested and have been asking about him. He's spent the last three years playing at a very high level, he's managed to lock down a first choice place in the Spanish national team - something that isn't easy to do with the competition there is, he was the best player at the Under-21 Euros… The way he has been evolving, it would be strange if they weren't interested . We have let Napoli know about all of the enquiries e have received, directly through Miguel Alfaro at You First Italia”.

As for the midfielder's dramatic development over the past 12 months, Torres added: “Fabián has been progressing with his game under every coach he has worked with. He was really happy working with Carlo Ancelotti and last season he was magnificent, as we all know. With Gennaro Gattuso's arrival, he's been used more as a number 6, although the team in general is lacking a little in terms of physical tone. Once they are back at full strength, Fabián will be handed more freedom and will be able to play closer to the opponents' area which is the position where he plays best. He is a great passer of the ball - long and short, he's attacking, he has a good shot… That's how he found the target against Inter and Brescia in February”.

As far as Napoli's coach is concerned, the player is going nowhere and Madrid will have to fight to prise him away: “Gattuso has surprised me with his positive approach,” Torres concluded. “He usually like to play a very ordered game with the team sat deep, but he also likes the team to have possession of the ball. I think that's a good thing for Fabián as it's helped him to continue developing”.