English Championship side Cardiff City has announced the signing of Zimbabwean-linked midfielder Andy Rinomhota.
Rinomhota (25), was born in the United Kingdom to a Zimbabwean father and British mother.
He joins Cardiff from fellow Championship side Reading on a three-year deal.
After training with his new teammates for the first time, Rinomhota said:
I spoke with the manager, and I liked his ideas and his plans moving forward.
His ambitions were in line with mine, and the philosophy he wants to play with suits my style of football.
The club has a good history and a good reputation. Everybody has been very welcoming and helpful, and they seem like a good group of lads. It should be easy to settle in.
I’m a midfield player. I would say that I’m box-to-box, but I can sit and be more defensive as well because I like to break up play.
I like to drive with the ball, get past players, and make runs behind the striker.
I’m looking to do a bit of everything, and hopefully, I can implement my style in this team.
Cardiff manager Steve Morison said Rinomhota will bring competition to the Blues squad. He said:
He’s a top player, and he wanted to come and play for us. He had a tough year last year with a couple of injuries, but before that he played two 40+ game seasons.
He was a top player for Reading. We’ll manage him right, and we hope to get 40 top-quality games out of him this year.
Nobody is guaranteed a starting spot. Everybody will be looking over their shoulders and fighting for their place.
I’m really pleased, because for me, competition breeds winners, and it brings that little bit extra on the pitch.
Rinomhota made his debut for Reading in 2017, and featured on 139 occasions for the club in total, scoring four goals.
He enjoyed a particularly strong Championship campaign in 2018/19, picking up Reading’s Player of the Season Award.