The 25-year-old has regularly been linked with a move to the Premier League over the last three years, with Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool all touted as interested parties.
The Spaniard also has admirers in his home country, with Real Madrid and Barcelona seen as possible destinations for the versatile midfielder.
However, Newcastle tried to beat all these clubs to Ruiz in January, with Corriere dello Sport reporting that they made a bid of £33m, but it was rejected by the Serie A side.
Napoli are second in Serie A and looking to hunt down Inter Milan at the top of the table, just four points behind the league leaders and they did not want to let a key part of their team leave in January.
A deal in the summer may be doable, though, with Ruiz out of contract at Napoli next year.
The Italians are hoping that he commits his future to the club beyond that, but if he doesn’t then they will likely cash in at the end of the season rather than risk losing him on a free in 2023.
Ruiz signed for Napoli from Real Betis in 2018, signing the contract he is on now, but Napoli have been trying to extend his deal for some time.
His agent, Alvaro Torres, spoke back in April 2020 about interests in his client from big clubs around Europe and discussions over a new contract.
‘A few months ago, we decided to leave the issue of Fabian’s contract to one side. We can return to it at the end of the season,’ he said.
‘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.’
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