Rochdale AFC

Manager Brian Barry-Murphy has offered his thoughts on his first summer signing, Alex Newby, who put pen to paper on a two-year deal earlier this month.

“The circumstances of the pandemic will have a certain impact on the way squads are formulated, but Alex was someone before all of this that we had identified as must have if it was possible,” said the Dale boss.

“His connection with the Club is through Lee Riley. Alex worked with Lee when he was a very young player at Morecambe, so he was very aware of his outstanding technical attributes. He didn’t quite make it at Morecambe because he was a late developer and was quite small, but we’ve been aware of him for a long time. He is an exceptionally talented technical player who we are convinced will be ideal for our team.

“Whenever we are recruiting players, first and foremost we think about what they will look like to our squad and to our supporters. Alex has a certain swagger and he plays the game in an exuberant way. He’s a flair player, if you want to call it that, and he’s very creative. He has demonstrated that on the training pitch straight away.

“I’ve insisted that he is encouraged to be the player and the person that we know he is, and he looks right at home amongst the group. Our lads are exceptional at making guys feel at home, anyway.”