Almería has its first spring signing: Rodrigo Ely

Almeria has signed Rodrigo Ely, who arrives to reinforce the axis of the defense after Chumi, Carriço and Martos were injured. The Brazilian terminated his contract with Nottingham Forest a month ago, landing in the Mediterranean as a free agent. Today he has already trained with his new teammates, before the Indálica entity made the operation official and tomorrow he will be presented in the provisional press room of the stadium. Ely is committed to the Almeria club until June, although he has two more optional seasons and this Saturday he will debut, except for surprise: although he does not have the ideal competitive rhythm, he has been training with the English club during February.

The diagnosis of Iván Martos’ ailment has not yet been made public, although it points to a serious knee injury. Thus, Rubi only has Babic available (he has not exercised today due to back discomfort after suffering a blow in Zaragoza) and now Ely for the axis of the rear, with the wild card of De la Hoz. If Martos’ long-term absence is confirmed, Almería will go to the market in search of another central defender for the final leg of the competition by having that option for the man from Manresa, as he has done with the incorporation of this Monday after Nieto’s injury.

Born in November 1993 in the Brazilian municipality of Lajeado, Rodrigo Ely has an Italian passport, so he does not occupy a non-EU position. Milan took over his services when he was a member of the Gremio at the age of 16. The red-and-blacks loaned him out to Reggina, Varese and Avelino to cut his teeth in the Italian second division, before making his debut in the top flight in August 2015 in a Fiorentina 2-0 Milan game. In January 2017, Alavés obtained his loan, staying in Vitoria until last year when exercising the purchase option in the summer of 2017 for almost three million euros. In the First Division he played 82 games (75 of them, as a starter), half a dozen goals included, in addition to playing in the Copa del Rey final in 2017.

In December 2020 he tore the cruciate ligament in his left knee, which made him miss the season and not renew with Alavés. He signed with Nottingham Forest, although he did not make his debut, terminating his contractual relationship with the English last January. This weekend he landed in the capital of Almería to finalize the details of his contract and undergo a medical examination, training today with his new team. Almería presents its new defender, who is 1’88 tall, as “a right-handed central defender who can play on the right or on the left; forceful in his actions, powerful in the aerial game, with good ball output; and that contributes in attack in the plays of strategy”.