One of Barcelona’s biggest problems has been finding a way to replace legendary players when they eventually hang up their boots. They tried to get Philippe Coutinho to follow in Andres Iniesta’s footsteps, and it went disastrously wrong.
The perennially broken Ousmane Dembele hasn’t been able to find his way out of Neymar’s shadow. And the idea of Lionel Messi leaving is enough to get any of the club’s fans trembling.
Instead, the best thing the Spanish champions can do is try to sign players who have ‘Barca DNA’, who play in the same way the club value. That was why they brought in Frenkie de Jong from Ajax for this season and it is paying off in spades. And it is also why they are interested in Napoli midfielder Fabian Ruiz.
But a lot of clubs are.
Liverpool have been linked to the Spaniard, along with Real Madrid and Manchester City. Barcelona will get the chance to study the technician up close in the Champions League last-16 double-header against Napoli, starting on Tuesday at Stadio San Paolo.
They will find a player who in his youth idolised Blagurana legend Xavi and that admiration shows through in his game, even if he's no clone of the diminutive midfielder. "I fell in love with football thanks to him,” Fabian said to Radio Kiss Kiss.
Few have been as interested in the 23-year-old than current Barca coach Quique Setien, who managed him at Real Betis. Back in 2017, when the coach took over at the Benito Villamarin he told the board to reject a €1 million (£830k / $1m) offer from Barcelona for Fabian, who had only played 25 matches for Betis at the time.
"When I arrived I saw Fabian's potential and we decided to keep him,” said Setien last summer to Radio Marca. "He needs to improve certain things, but he has an incredible ability to learn and he has a wide development margin.
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“(Napoli) paid €30m (£25m / $32m) for him and if he had stayed I have no doubt that they could have earned €60m (£50m / $65m) from his transfer now.” Less than a year later and that figure has risen again, with €80m (£67m / $86m) now the expected asking price for Fabian’s many suitors.
Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis, in his bullish fashion, recently suggested it needs to be higher still. "I paid €30m for Fabian and he’s a fantastic player," said De Laurentiis to the Italian press. "If some of the European top clubs were to offer €180m (£150m / $194) we can start talking about selling him."
After one season under Setien, making 34 La Liga appearances, Napoli swooped and plucked Fabian from the south of Spain. In his debut campaign, he had shown excellent technique, treating the ball well and proving he could play both further forward and deeper in midfield - a well-rounded skill-set, on his way to becoming a complete player.
Similar to De Jong at Barcelona, Napoli found it hard to put him in one position and keep him there. Fabian dribbles well, making quick, sharp turns which leave opponents for dead, keeping the ball when it seems like he shouldn’t be able to. This talent has seen him utilised on the left side of the midfield too, where he is dangerous despite lacking pace.
That is where Carlo Ancelotti placed him for parts of the 2018-19 season, with Fabian taking to Serie A like a duck to water, showing impressive creativity, while he continued to work on his end product.
It paid off in the summer.
Fabian honed his shooting from distance, scoring a long-range effort in the Uefa under-21 European Championship final as Spain lifted the trophy in 2019. His sparkling displays saw him voted the player of the tournament too.
This season he has more often than not been used in central midfield by Napoli, although there is a defensive burden on him at times which he struggles to keep up with. At 6'2, he has a big frame but isn’t particularly strong, or notably good at winning balls back. He has impressed at Napoli in spite of how he’s been utilised, rather than because of it.
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Where Fabian excels is at bringing the ball forward, whether it be under his command or via his typically precise passing. There are elements of Andre Gomes to his game, but where the Portuguese failed at Barcelona, Fabian has shown none of those signs.
Under Gennaro Gattuso things are looking up for him, scoring winners against Inter in the Coppa Italia and then on Friday against Brescia, the perfect way to warm up for the Barcelona clash.
These positional worries would ease in Catalonia, where he could operate alongside De Jong as one of the two interiors, ahead of Sergio Busquets. That would be a midfield trio which could whip up a passing storm harking back to the Pep Guardiola era. Real Madrid, meanwhile, view him as someone who could do Luka Modric’s job.
Even as he approaches his 24th birthday there is a lot of buzz around Fabian, to whom Luis Enrique handed a Spain debut in June 2019, and he has made six international appearances to date. It’s likely he’ll travel to Euro 2020 next summer with La Roja.
Fabian’s stock is rising and it could skyrocket if he steps into the spotlight in the showcase Champions League tie with Barcelona.
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