Robbie Savage: Ricardo Rees can be the difference in Forest Green Rovers promotion push

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Robbie Savage believes Forest Green Rovers have finally found the “ruthless” goalscorer they have been searching for after completing the signing of prolific forward Ricardo Rees from Merthyr Town on Wednesday.

The Welsh striker arrives at The New Lawn for an undisclosed fee and as the National League North top goalscorer, having netted 25 goals in 23 appearances so far this season, following on from 38 goals in 2023/24 and 33 more last term for the Martyrs.

In a club statement, Rovers said they had fended off competition from several EFL clubs to secure his signature.

And Savage later admitted to the club’s YouTube channel that his strikers had lacked a clinical edge in front of goal and that Rees had emerged as the standout option after extensive recruitment work.

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Clinical

“So far our number nines haven’t been as ruthless and clinical as we would have liked,” he said. “We thought, right, who is the player out there at the minute who can affect the team?

“And we looked and we looked and looked and we had six or seven options with our metrics, our analytics. Ricardo was one that jumped out to us and other clubs.

“We’ve beaten off competition from clubs not too far away. Speaking to Ricardo, he’s had offers from four or five league clubs, concrete offers.

“But we’ve persuaded him that this journey is right for him. And people will say the old narrative, well, Forest Green must have paid the most.

“But that won’t be the case, let me tell you. Our offer was competitive, but it wasn’t the biggest.”

Hunger

The 51-year-old Forest Green boss added: “Ricardo chose us and his goal record speaks for itself. I’ll have to change shape, which we knew – so I like to play a 4-2-3-1 now, but we’ll be looking at a 4-3-3.

“There is an option to play three strikers now, narrow, with the width coming from the full-backs.

“I do like to play with three in midfield because you have to win that battle. So these are the options we’re looking at.

“But Ricardo will go straight into the team on Saturday, if he gets his clearance, his international clearance. And we’re absolutely thrilled and delighted.

“What we wanted Ricardo to do is, if all the offers were much of a muchness, we wanted him to choose with his heart and he’s done that.

“So again, brilliant guy, brilliant character. Another Welshman in the building, which I’m pleased about.

“But his hunger and his drive – and what an opportunity for the kid. What an opportunity. And I’ve told him he’s going to make mistakes. He’s going to miss chances.

“But you’ve got a manager here who believes in youngsters, who believes in players having their first opportunity in full-time football. And he’s going to thrive in an environment which is brilliant.”

Track record

Rees leaves Merthyr after more than three years together, with 120 goals in 168 games. The 26-year-old joined the Welsh side from Yate Town after starting his senior career with Championship side Bristol City.

Savage, a fellow Welshman, expanded on why he thinks he is the missing piece the club have been searching for.

“Well, Temi [Babalola] done brilliant for us, by the way,” he said. “And so has Kairo [Mitchell] and [Christian] Doidge. My three forwards have done great. But Ricardo’s different.

“We’ve seen Ollie Pearce for York and Josh Stones. We’ve seen Regan Linney, we’ve seen Emmanuel Dieseruvwe at Rochdale, we’ve seen Boreham Wood forwards – I can’t think of all the names.

“They’ve all done unbelievably well. So we need somebody now to consistently stick the ball in the back of the net and has got a track record of it. And I believe Ricardo is that person.

“That’s not saying that Kairo won’t do that, Temi won’t do that or Doidge won’t do that. Because we’ve now got four brilliant options at the top end of the pitch to go and try and get us the goals to either get us up, winning the league, getting us to Wembley in the playoffs and winning an FA Trophy.

“So, again, I think we just probably look for a defensive player and probably the one more attacking option out wide. And then we’re done.”

Loyal

The NLP spoke to Merthyr boss Paul Michael back in November of challenge he was facing to keep a hold of his star striker away from the clutches of full-time admirers.

However, he did state he would not stand in his way if the right move came along. And he has kept his word.

Speaking after his side’s 2-2 draw with Hereford on Tuesday, Michael said: “Ric’s had a number of offers to leave the club over the last couple of years and he’s always been loyal.

“He’s always decided to stay, but we had an agreement in the summer that if the right club came in, with the right fee for the football club as well, that he would be allowed to move into full-time football.

“There’s been so much interest over the last couple of months. Obviously, he’s been absolutely flying. I think when you do it in the Southern League, it’s one thing, but the way he’s done it, and he’s made the transition into the National League North with ease.

“He’s been outstanding and he’s taken his game to new levels and he deserves the move. I believe he can go and play in the EFL in the future and this is hopefully a step towards it.

Special

“Obviously, we’re all disappointed to see him go, but we’ve got to be proud of playing the part and seeing him develop into the player that he is now.

“I would never, ever want to be a manager who stands in the way of a player progressing up the pyramid.

“There are examples of boys in South Wales who’ve not got that release fee and clubs have held players to ransom and then they end up not getting that opportunity at any point in their career.

“So, we were never going to stand in the way. We’re all going to miss him greatly, of course.”

In his final message to the Martyr supporters, the Newport-born striker said: “I just want to thank everyone associated at Merthyr Town Football Club, from the staff, volunteers, my teammates and of course the supporters.

“Everyone has made my journey with the club such a special one, and we have created some lifelong memories together.

“Merthyr will always be in my heart and I class everyone there as my second family. Thank you for everything. UTT!”

Forest Green take on play-off chasing FC Halifax Town this Saturday, where Rees is expected to make his debut for the club.

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