Newcastle ‘wanted to sign Napoli pair Victor Osimhen and Fabian Ruiz for up to £117MILLION in January – but relegation-threatened side could not convince them to join their big-money revolution
- Newcastle spent over £90m during a busy January transfer window for the club
- The Magpies were also interested in making two massive signings from Napoli
- Napoli rejected bids for striker Victor Osimhen and midfielder Fabian Ruiz
Newcastle had a busy January transfer window but if they reportedly got their way they would have also made two massive signings from Napoli.
The richest club in football spent over £90m on the likes of Chris Wood, Kieran Trippier, Bruno Guimaraes and Dan Burn – while Matt Targett also arrived on loan.
A move for Manchester United’s Jesse Lingard failed to work out, while they are also said to have attempted a swoop for two Napoli players.
Newcastle were interested in signing Napoli pair Victor Osimhen and Fabian Ruiz in January
According to Italian journalist Paolo Bargiggia, via Sport Witness, the Serie A side rejected a combined bid of €140 million (£117m) for striker Victor Osimhen and midfielder Fabian Ruiz.
Bargiggia told 1 Station Radio: ‘Napoli received offers from Newcastle for the two jewels Osimhen and Fabian Ruiz, around 40 million for the Spaniard; they could have reached even 100 for the former.
‘Napoli turned them down and, the players themselves, were not convinced by the destination.
Eddie Howe’s side were able to bring in five players during the January transfer window
‘The club has to renew the contract of Fabian Ruiz, who, at the moment, is one of the best in the squad and earns 1.5 million.
‘My feeling is that if important clubs like Real Madrid show up, it will be hard to keep the player and match certain offers.’
It would have been a massive jump for the Napoli pair given the respective league positions of both clubs.
Nigerian striker Osimhen has scored nine goals in 16 appearances in all competitions
Fabian Ruiz has impressed many with his performances in the heart of Napoli’s midfield
Napoli are second in the Serie A just four points off leaders Inter Milan, while Newcastle sit inside the Premier League relegation zone in 18th.
Nigerian striker Osimhen would have helped solve Newcastle’s lack of goals this season, with the 23-year-old scored nine goals in 16 appearances across all competitions.
Ruiz meanwhile has scored five Serie A goals this campaign and has previously been linked to some of Europe’s biggest clubs including Barcelona, Manchester United and Arsenal.
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