Position: Winger
Age: 21 *
At Club Since: Summer 2024
Total Club League Appearances (Goals): 5(0) *
Coventry City’s first move of the summer, just what the plan is for the young Australian/Dutch/Brazilian winger, Raphael Borges Rodrigues will only become clear later in the window. The 20 year-old has one full season of senior, professional football under his belt, with Macarthur FC of the A-League, but just how that translates to the English game is the gamble the club are taking with this signing. With Tatsuhiro Sakamoto, Ephron Mason-Clark and Haji Wright all strong options out wide, Borges Rodrigues will be allowed to ease into life with the club, with the hope being that he can provide the depth in that area of the pitch that the team sorely lacked over the final months of last season.
What is most notable from watching the available clips of Raphael Borges Rodrigues is his physical stature, which should stand him in good stead to adapt to the greater physicality of English football. The data on Borges Rodrigues also bears out that he is a hard worker off the ball, which is another tick in the positive column. From both a statistical perspective and in terms of the raw count of his goals and assists, it is apparent that Raphael Borges Rodrigues is not the finished product, even at A-League level, which is probably a tier or two below the Championship. It is possible that Borges Rodrigues has not been signed to be directly part of the senior squad straight away, with time in the under-21s or a loan spell possible options for the player’s first months at the club.
After investing heavily in first-team ready players over the past year, the addition of Raphael Borges Rodrigues sees the club turn attention to building out the squad. Whether it’s sitting on the fringes of the first-team, offering cover for the senior wide players, or looking to develop with the under-21s or out on loan, the signing of Raphael Borges Rodrigues looks to be part of a process of making the club competitive over a sustained period. The question for the player heading into the coming season is whether he can make an impact now or somewhere further down the line.
*As of 23/08/2025
Sideways Sammy 