Notts County hit the jackpot with their signing of Portuguese midfielder Ruben Rodrigues, back in the summer of 2020.
The midfielder was signed from Dutch second tier outfit Den Bosch, and had never played in England before, but he went on to become a star at Meadow Lane.
Rodrigues was a hugely influential player over the course of his three-year stint in NG2, and played an invaluable role in their dramatic promotion at Wembley in the 2022/23 season.
He has since gone on to join Oxford United, whom he also helped to promotion through the play-offs last season, and this term he has been a regular in the Championship for the U’s.
Rodrigues’ potential was always clear to see during his time with the Magpies and his signing has arguably been one of the best the club have made in recent years.
Rodrigues was an excellent signing for Notts
Since the takeover of Christoffer and Alexander Reedtz in 2019, Notts have always had an eye on the European market when searching for players who can come in and have a big impact at the club.
The Danish brothers run a football betting and analysis company called Football Radar, and their company has access to an extensive amount of data from leagues and players all across Europe.
They have dipped into the European market on several occasions in recent years, with the likes of Elisha Sam, Alassana Jatta and Mai Traore all coming from overseas. However, Rodrigues has been the most successful by some distance.
The Magpies fought off competition from several other clubs to secure the signature of Rodrigues, who had struck 12 league goals and seven assists from just 27 games for Den Bosch in the 2019/20 campaign.
After taking a few months to settle in Nottingham and adapt to the English style of football, Rodrigues ended his first season in black and white with 12 league goals to his name. He also claimed the Supporters’ Player of the Season award as his side crashed out of the National League play-offs at the semi-final stage.
The following year, the midfielder firmly established himself as one of the best players outside the Football League, as he hit 20 league goals in a single season for the first time in his career.
With the Portuguese entering the final year of his contract ahead of the 2022/23 season, Notts decided that he was too important to lose, opting against the possibility of receiving a relatively small fee for his services.
Rodrigues paid the club back for the faith they showed in him, and so much more. With 19 goals and 16 assists in the league, the then-26-year-old put up the strongest numbers of his career to help lift Notts back into the Football League.
| Ruben Rodrigues Notts County stats (as per Playmaker) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Games | Goals | ||
| 139 | 54 | ||
Ever the man for the big occasion, he saved his most important moment for virtually his final act in a Notts shirt. Rodrigues scored a crucial extra-time equaliser with a looping volley to drag the Magpies to a penalty shootout in their play-off final at Wembley. He then buried his penalty in the shootout as Luke Williams’ men secured their place in club folklore with promotion back to League Two.
While it was tough to lose a player of that quality ahead of Notts’ first season in the Football League for five years, there was a unanimous feeling that Rodrigues had served the club extremely well, and was thoroughly deserving of his move.
The Portuguese represented the club with pride and had a phenomenal work rate for somebody who could potentially have been seen as something of a luxury player. The midfielder played with an edge and a physicality to his game that made him particularly well-suited to the lower leagues.
On plenty of occasions, Rodrigues was the man who turned games on their head for Notts, producing moments of magic out of nothing. He remains one of the most loved players to have represented the club in recent years, and the return the club got from his free transfer was nothing short of a bargain.
Luther Wildin has excelled for Stevenage, recently earning a new deal. Notts will regret how his career has played out – they released him in 2017.
Rodrigues has progressed well at Oxford
Having been linked with the likes of Blackburn Rovers and Blackpool previously, it came as something of a surprise when he opted to move to Oxford upon the expiry of his contract.
However, the U’s recent success has certainly vindicated that decision. Rodrigues instantly became a key player at the Kassam Stadium, notching nine goals and five assists in all competitions in his first season.
His ability to produce when it mattered most continued from his stint at Notts, as two of those assists came in the play-off final as Oxford defeated Bolton to earn a first promotion to the Championship in 25 years.
Although Gary Rowett’s side are now facing a nervy end to the season in order to preserve their second tier status, Rodrigues has enjoyed another impressive individual season, adapting well to the level of the Championship, something which isn’t always easy after jumping up three divisions in the space of two years.
From the Magpies’ perspective, he is undoubtedly one of the finest players the club has had over the last decade and, when you factor in the fact that he played a huge part in their eventual promotion back into the Football League, it’s hard to argue with the suggestion that he is one of the club’s best signings in recent years.
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