Valencia swoops for Napoli's Victor Ruiz

Published Aug. 30, 2011 4:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

Valencia has signed centre-back Victor Ruiz from Napoli on a five-year deal.

The 22-year-old arrived in Valencia on Monday night and put pen to paper on his contract on Tuesday morning.

Valencia technical secretary Braulio Vazquez believes the acquisition of Ruiz, who helped Spain win the European Under-21 Championship earlier this summer, will prove to be "an important step forward" for Los Che.

He told www.valenciacf.es: "[Ruiz is] of the highest level in Europe. He has great technique, positional sense and strength.

"He will help to complement our existing defence and offer something different to our squad.

"He is a player with a big future ahead of him, and will definitely shine in the present.

"We are proud to have him here, and to have reached an agreement for his signature after a difficult negotiation process, because Napoli valued him very highly.

"I think that with Victor on board, we have taken an important step forward."