Notts County have made their first summer signing and have brought in Portuguese attacking midfielder Ruben Rodrigues from Dutch side FC Den Bosch.
The 24 year old scored 12 goals and added 10 assists for the second tier team in Holland last season and is an exciting talent that can unlock doors playing either in the centre of attack or on the left wing.
Born in Oliveira de Azemeis to the south of Porto, Ruben de Rocha Rodrigues by his full name has been in the Netherlands since his junior days playing for VV Boskant, Den Bosch and Wilhelmina Boys before joining Gemert in 2017 where he impressed before re signing for Den Bosch a year later scoring 12 goals in 33 league games either side of a loan move to De Treffers in 2019.
Last season Rodrigues was just starting to find his feet in the Eerste Division as his club sat mid-table prior to lockdown, with him stating “Before coronavirus stopped our season I was playing well. At the beginning we had a bit of a sticky spell – we weren’t playing as well as we should have been – but around October I started scoring consecutively and after that I performed well in general.”
When asked of his qualities and on what Notts fans are to expect Rodrigues said “I have a very strong right foot and like to shoot, pass and dribble.”
Rodrigues, who becomes the first Portuguese player to sign for Notts County, actually has the same agent as Enzio Boldewijn which helped see the deal through saying “Enzio told me if he was in my position he would come swimming to England! He says everything is good – the coaches, the staff, the pitch, the city.”
Manager Neal Ardley delighted with his first capture of the summer stated “Ruben is the player I watched more than any other during lockdown.”
“The recruitment team and I believe we have found an exciting talent who will improve the squad and get better with age.”
*Main image @Official_NCFC Rodrigues is the first ever Portuguese player to sign for Notts County.
