Notts County boss Luke Williams is "confident" that the club will be able to keep star man Ruben Rodrigues despite revealing that "a number of substantial offers" had been made for the forward.
The 25-year-old Portuguese ace produced a man of the match performance against Nottingham Forest on Tuesday evening. He was simply untouchable during his 80-minute performance at Meadow Lane on Tuesday evening, grabbing an exquisite assist for Macauley Langstaff for the Magpies' first equaliser, with soon-to-be Premier League players unable to get near the slaloming runs and close control by the Notts number 20.
His movement across the pitch was also key in Magpies' second goal, managing to take away a number of Forest midfielders and allowing Kyle Cameron to drive from defence, with his eventual cross falling to Sam Austin following to pounce following a mistake from Jordan Smith.
But with that performance, comes interest, with Notts fans knowing that feeling all too well after recently losing winger Cal Roberts to Aberdeen earlier this week, whilst also losing joint-top scorer Kyle Wootton to Stockport County earlier in the window, and they don't want a repeat scenario with Rodrigues so close to the start of the season.
Despite the rumoured interest surrounding their player, Williams was confident that the club can keep Rodrigues at the club for the upcoming season and was full of praise following his performance against their Premier League neighbours.
"There was some real moments of quality, Ruben I thought was excellent at times, I think he could have played for them to be quite honest," said Williams.
"I'm confident he will stay, but of course there is going to be interest.
"I nearly took him off after around 20 minutes tonight be he was playing too well, but he knows he is at a club where he's valued very highly, his team-mates think the world of him, the fans adore him, so you have to be careful when you trade that.
"It has to be for something really substantial, there has been lots of interest, but nothing that is worthy of him of leaving this fantastic club, and in a position when he knows his value."
Rodrigues' contract expires next summer and the Magpies could end up losing him on a free transfer, but potential promotion back to the Football League could entice the Portuguese midfielder to sign a new deal at Meadow Lane.
But as we know too well, the National League is an extremely tough league to get out of, and the rumoured offers for Rodrigues have been within the Football League, a place where a player of his calibre should be playing his football.
That could be one deciding factor for the player, but Williams has confirmed the club have received a number of substantial offers, but insisted that none of the offers were able to blow a club like Notts County, "out of the water."
"Yes, we have had a number of substantial offers for Ruben," explained Williams just after the Nottingham Forest draw.
"But of those offers, it is nothing that can blow this football club out of the water, and be impossible for him to walk away from.
"We are, as we know, a very good football club and he is valued here very highly, and he understands that, and you can see by his performance tonight that he is motivated."
With the National League season just over a week away, keeping hold of Rodrigues could be the difference between a return to the Football League, or a fourth season in the fifth tier of English football.
