Following the signing of loanee 10 Luke Harris from Fulham, it may well be the case that Wycombe and Michael Duff are looking to adopt the new 5-2-2-1 as the teams main identity and tactic going forward.
If this is true, Wycombe may need another long term option as an attacking midfielder. Jamie Mullins and Harris are natural in the position and are likely to play there, as too is Alex Lowry albeit Duff has shown not to fully trust the Scottish youngster so far. Cauley Woodrow and Junior Quitirna are both able to play there too, but aren’t natural in that position.
As such, we thought we would take a look at one potential long term option for the position for Wycombe, with both Cauley Woodrow and Harris returning to their parent clubs at the end of their loan in the summer.
Rúben Rodrigues of Vitoria in Brazil would be a great signing in that position. Formerly of Notts County and Oxford United, he scored 39 goals across two seasons for Notts County in the National League, before moving to League One Oxford where he scored nine goals and six assists to help fire the U’s to the Championship, before helping keep them up with another four goals and three assists as they battled to 17th and survival.
However, a move to Brazilian club Vitoria hasn’t fully worked out so far for the 29-year-old, playing just 24 minutes across four matches so far, sat on the bench as an unused sub in another five matches.
Ruben would be a creative force for the Chairboys as a 10, in the same role as Jamie Mullins but with more experience and knowledge of EFL and senior football, providing a strong mentor for the budding prospect.
In his last season in League One, Ruben averaged 1.45 successful long balls per match, 1.68 chances created per match, 1.30 successful dribbles per match, 54.9 touches per match, 2.62 fouls won per match. However, he was also surprisingly strong at his defensive actions, winning 1.74 tackles per match, 6.81 duels per 90 (at a 51.1% success rate) and 5.21 ball recoveries a match, all well above average for attacking players.
Rúben Rodrigues would provide a very strong option for the Chairboys at the 10 role, a surprisingly physical player who is also an extremely creative threat who could add both goals and assists to Wycombe’s team. He’s an experienced player who’s encountered both promotion playoffs and relegation battles, which would be extremely important for Wycombe if they continue to push for Championship football, and potentially any battle to stay there if successful.
However, Vitoria may be hesitant to let the player go, as would Rodrigues himself. He picked up an injury shortly into his time at the club and Vitoria are happy to allow him time to adapt before they fully make a decision over his future, while for Ruben it would be a step down from the Brazilian first tier to League One, albeit in a country where he spent half a decade.
He would likely, like other players such as Anders Hagelskjær, need convincing of the clubs trajectory and future of the Chairboys in order to sign. He however, would be a major statement of intent from the club, and would be one that would provide a major impact on the club’s current fight to get into the promotion spots.
