Manchester United have approached the camp of Napoli midfielder Fabian Ruiz, according to Italian journalist Ciro Venerato (via Sport Witness).

The lowdown

Ruiz is into the final year of his contract at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona and so, come January, he'll be able to negotiate pre-contract terms with foreign clubs.

Various Italian outlets (via Football Italia) reported earlier this summer that Ruiz had rejected the offer of an extension from the Champions League side.

It's thought that they will refuse to sell him for less than €30million, which equates to about £25million.

The latest

Venerato told CalcioNapoli24 that 'Manchester United made an attempt with Fabian's entourage', but have not yet initiated a dialogue with Napoli.

The Serie A side are willing to insert a low release clause into a new contract, but they suspect that the player wants to run down his deal and leave on a free.

And that could apparently lead to him being frozen out of the first team picture this season.

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The verdict

Ruiz could potentially be viewed as a central midfield alternative to Frenkie de Jong.

Like the Dutchman, he stands out for pass volume, pass completion, progressive passes and progressive carries.

Intriguingly, though, while Ruiz is more active than De Jong defensively, he also produced a higher quality of goal involvements (11 compared to six). Some would argue, on that basis, that he might be a better-rounded option.

Indeed, his former coach has marvelled at the 'spectacular' Spaniard, and also hailed him as a 'beautiful person'.

United want to sign De Jong from Barcelona but the move is shrouded in uncertainty, with Samuel Luckhurst of The Manchester Evening News admitting he wouldn't be surprised if it collapsed.

And perhaps, with the new season drawing near, United will want take decisive action soon.