Newcastle now keen on ‘fascinating’ 23-year-old forward – journalist

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If you’re tuning in to watch Newcastle United’s Anthony Gordon play for England U21s in the Euro final tonight, you might do well to keep an eye on Spain forward Abel Ruiz as he is now linked with Newcastle.

Transfer specialist Graeme Bailey has said on 90mins Talking Transfers podcast that Newcastle are monitoring Braga’s 23-year-old forward Abel Ruiz who was once at Barcelona, albeit only making one senior appearance before moving on.

The Spain U21 captain will likely be facing off against England U21 and Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon in the U21s European Championship final at 5pm tonight which gives Newcastle fans two reasons to watch the game beyond wanting to see an England men’s side lift a trophy.

Ruiz had a good season for Braga which landed him on Newcastle’s radar

Last season Ruiz made 34 appearances in Liga Portugal for Braga scoring eight goals and providing six assists playing as either a centre forward or second striker, an area that Eddie Howe has been looking to strengthen given our lack of a natural number 10 at the club.

Speaking about Ruiz, Graeme Bailey said: “My understanding is a lot of English teams are keeping an eye on him and have been watching him, he did well at Braga last year. The likes of Newcastle, West Ham.

“Ultra-technical, not dissimilar to Goncalo Ramos but maybe a lot cheaper, maybe a lot better on the ground some would argue.

“Fascinating player, keep an eye on him, I think he’s one a lot will be watching.”

Abel Ruiz has been compared to Newcastle target Goncalo Ramos

Goncalo Ramos is also in Newcastle’s sights and after an amazing season with Benfica he saw his value sky rocket, but if Ruiz is a similar player and arguably better on the ground, then what are we waiting for?

There’s no mention of a figure, but ‘a lot cheaper’ than Goncalo Ramos is a good place to start. It’ll definitely be worth watching him tonight as he faces up against the Young Lions and we can see if this one is worth progressing.

Of course one game isn’t a fair representation, so regardless of his performance we still need to defer to the club’s judgement. They’ve rarely been wrong so far.