After lengthy talks, Fabian Ruiz is indeed headed to PSG, but Keylor Navas will not be included in the deal with Napoli. The two clubs settled a €23M fee, with no add-ons, after the negotiation risked collapsing on that front Monday, SportMediaset reports.
The midfielder will ink a five-year contract and earn €5M per year. The Azzurri froze him out because his deal would have run out in 2023. The conversations to extend it didn’t go anywhere. The Spaniard joined the Azzurri from Real Betis for €30M in 2018. He starred in 166 matches, logging 22 goals and 15 assists.
While Ruiz will sign with PSG Tuesday, Navas will not join Napoli right away, or perhaps at all. The Ligue 1 champions don’t want to give him a sizeable severance package. The Partenopei will try until deadline day to bag him, Alfredo Pedullà reports.
The Costa Rican can’t transfer on loan otherwise the Azzurri wouldn’t benefit from hefty fiscal savings on his salary. They have an agreement in principle with the shot-stopper for €4M wages and a robust signing bonus, La Repubblica reports. The Campania team isn’t chasing after other goalies. They would lean on Alex Meret if they couldn’t sign the three-time Champions League winner.
Our Take Ruiz and Navas Deals Between PSG and Napoli
The Partenopei aren’t getting full value for their star midfielder but pretty close to it, and that’s a win given the situation. They are acting more traditionally than other sides willing to lose players for nothing to take the contractual talks down to the wire. They would be rolling the dice with Meret, but he has been decent so far, and perhaps he could improve if handed the full-time starting job.
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