First team

Spanish midfielder Alejandro Rodríguez Gorrín is Motherwell FC’s fifth signing of the summer transfer window.

The 24-year-old, who counts Sunderland, Wellington Phoenix, Boavista and Sepsi OSK amongst his former teams, has signed an initial one-year deal with the club.

Alex came close to joining the Steelmen in January, training with the squad at their winter training camp in Tenerife, but a deal to move to Romania was all but completed and he made the move there.

“I like both parts of the game,” he said on his arrival at Fir Park. “I like to tackle and be aggressive, but I like to have the ball as well.

“I know in Scotland you like to attack, and it’s something I can do as well.

“Short term, I want to adjust to a new league and it will be different, maybe more physical. Then I’ll see after that. I will take it step by step, get pre-season under my belt and then have a good season.”

The Canary Islander came through the youth ranks at Sunderland, where he found himself teammates with current ‘Well stopper Trevor Carson.

He captained the youth team at the Stadium of Light, but could never break into the then-English Premier League side’s first team.

He left Sunderland in 2014 and moved across the world to sign with New Zealand-based, A-League club Wellington Phoenix.

He spent three seasons with the Nix, clocking up 72 appearances, before a move to Portuguese side Boavista last summer. However, his stay in Oporto only lasted six months before moving to Romania with Transylvanian side Asociația Club Sportiv Sepsi OSK Sfântu Gheorghe.

“We’ve been working to get Alex for a while now, so we are pleased to welcome him to the club,” ‘Well boss Stephen Robinson added.

“We got to see him first hand with the squad when we were in Tenerife and were really keen to sign him if the opportunity arose.

“He will give us real options in the middle of the pitch, where we now have a lot of competition for places. He can break up the play, take ownership of the ball and has a good range of passing.”

Alex will wear squad number 23 in the forthcoming 2018/2019 season.