Euro Paper Talk: Liverpool ready to match Barca’s €60m bid for star

Barcelona are prepping an opening €60m offer for a top Liverpool target, while Real Madrid have three targets in sight after setting aside €320m for a January spree, according to Thursday’s European papers.

 

BARCELONA TO MAKE FIRST APPROACH FOR FABIAN RUIZ

Barcelona are ready to make a move for Liverpool target Fabian Ruiz and will launch a €60m bid for the Napoli star in January, according to reports in Spain.

The stylish left-footer is well known for his dribbling skills and tactical versatility and has been earning rave reviews since moving to Naples from Real Betis in summer 2018.

Costing just €30m when Napoli met his exit clause, the player is now valued at nearer the €70m mark, having excelled both in Serie A and in starring for Spain at the Under-21 Championships this summer.

Reports on Wednesday claimed the twice-capped Spain star has emerged as a top target for Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, but it seems they are not alone in their admiration for the player, with Barca, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich also seemingly keen.

Now Mundo Deportivo claims Barca have already put in motion plans to launch an opening €60m approach for Ruiz in January.

As per the report, Napoli are likely to turn down the offer, given both their valuation of him and his importance to Carlo Ancelotti’s side. Furthermore, Napoli are also aware that others, including Liverpool, could yet turn the race to sign Ruiz into something of a bidding war.

It’s suggested that Barca’s approach could force Liverpool to match or even better the offer with Klopp not wanting to miss out on a player he considers as one of the world’s leading up-and-coming midfielders.

 

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AND THE REST

Real Madrid have €320m set aside for a January transfer spree with Paul Pogba, N’Golo Kante and Kalidou Koulibaly all in their sights (Diario Gol)

Tottenham and Manchester United target Bruno Fernandes will still be available for transfer in January, with Sporting Lisbon willing to sell the midfielder for €65m (A Bola)

Inter Milan are willing to challenge Juventus, Liverpool and Chelsea for Federico Chiesa, amid claims Fiorentina could be forced to sell the star next summer (Calciomercato)

Juventus tried to get rid of Paulo Dybala in ‘every way possible’ and were left disappointed that attempts to sell him to one of Man Utd, Tottenham or PSG failed (La Repubblica)

​Marco Verratti is on the verge of renewal with Paris Saint-Germain, with the Italian poised to sign a five-year deal worth a huge €11m a season (Gazzetta dello Sport)

Lautaro Martinez’s agent wants to see his client transfered to Barcelona to “play alongside Messi”, with Inter Milan hoping to trigger a contract extension (Calciomercato)

Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba agreed a £429,000-a-week deal with Paris St-Germain before deadline day but the transfer broke down because Neymar did not complete his move back to Barcelona (Calciomercato)

Roma left-back Moustapha Seck is reportedly heading towards NPSL club Miami United FC (Tuttomercatoweb)

Wolves will reportedly send a scout to watch Turkish goalkeeper Gokhan Akkan ahead of a potential January transfer window bid (Ajansspor)

Kevin-Prince Boateng has described former Barcelona teammate Ousmane Dembele as a ‘small child’ who constantly needs guidance (SportBild)

Antonio Conte will partner Alexis Sanchez with Romelu Lukaku in Inter Milan’s attack during the clash with Udinese this weekend (Gazzetta dello Sport)

AC Milan have opened contract negotiations with Gianluigi Donnarumma but what him to take a pay cut (Corriere dello Sport)

Edwin Van Der Sar has spoken of his ambitions for Ajax amid rumours linking him with a return to Manchester United as technical director (various)

Jose Mourinho has hailed Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo ‘a case study’ who will still be scoring goals at 50 (11 TV)

Christophe Henrotay, the agent of Thibaut Courtois, Youri Tielemans and Yannick Carrasco, has been arrested for money laundering and corruption (Marca)

Real Madrid and Chelsea have a transfer agreement regarding N’Golo Kante whereby the Blues will inform the Spanish club if they receive any bids for the France midfielder (Defensa Central)

Manchester United rebuffed AC Milan and Inter Milan’s bids for midfielder Nemanja Matic in the summer (various)

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez wants to stage a tennis match between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu (ABC De Sevilla)