Newcastle United reportedly now lead the chase to sign Napoli midfielder Fabian Ruiz and even submitted a bid for the player.

The Lowdown: Pope done

It has been widely reported that a deal to bring Nick Pope to St. James' Park to Burnley is done, with an official announcement expected soon.

With Matt Targett brought in on a permanent deal from Aston Villa as well, the North East club can now start to move on to other targets further up the pitch, having significantly improved their rearguard with their first two moves of the summer.

The Latest: Ruiz chase

As per Corriere dello Sport, both the Tynesiders and Arsenal now lead the chase to sign Ruiz, while Manchester City and Manchester United are further behind with their interest in the Napoli star.

Given that he only has a year left on his contract, the Serie A side are only asking for €30m (£25.8m) to sell, with the report claiming Eddie Howe's team had a much higher £42m bid rejected in the January transfer window.

The Verdict: Get it done

Given the interest in his signature from their Premier League rivals, who can also offer him European football, the Magpies simply need to get this deal done if Ruiz is seriously a target for Howe.

They could sign the midfield maestro for £16.2m less then they were willing to pay for him just a few months ago, and so he could turn out to be a real bargain.

Dubbed an ‘absolutely incredible‘ player by journalist Zach Lowy, Ruiz has consistently played at the highest level for Napoli over the last four seasons, playing in both the UEFA Champions League and Europa League as well as Serie A (Transfermarkt).

The six-foot-two box-to-box star has notched up 22 goals and 15 assists from midfield in his time there (Transfermarkt), and so would offer the Toon another injection of end product from deep that could really help them push up the table next term.