Boreham Wood have strengthened their ranks with the capture of speedy Portuguese winger Bruno Andrade.

The former QPR youngster jumped at the chance of joining Wood after turning down a deal to stay at National League rivals Woking where he made 43 appearances last term.

Wood boss Luke Garrard is delighted to get the 22-year-old on board and says fans can expect more new faces.

He told the club website: “Bruno is a good team player, he is creative and he can play down both sides. We’ve brought him here to improve us and to improve himself and we will quietly keep adding quality to the squad in the coming weeks as and when it becomes available.

"I’m only looking to sign the right type of characters and as Bruno only lives in Colindale, the club’s location is perfect for him and he’s a great age for me to continue his development.”

Andrade impressed Garrard when the Wood chief watched Woking last season and when the player declined Woking’s offer of re-engagement, Garrard was quick to jump in and agree terms.

Andrade started his career at QPR, joining their academy when he was 13, and made a big impression on England’s most expensive footballer Raheem Sterling, who also began at Rangers.

Sterling was quoted as saying: “It was when I was at QPR that I realised I could beat players purely with speed.

"One of my friends, Bruno Andrade, was so quick he just used to knock the ball past whoever he was playing against and I thought: ‘Why can’t I do that?’ Until then, I would try to dribble and maybe try a step over but he would just knock it then – beep, beep – and he was so fast he would get there first. So one weekend I tried it, too, and it worked.”

Andrade made four appearances for Rangers before loan moves to Wycombe Wanderers and Stevenage where he made a total of more than 50 professional appearances before finally ending up at Woking last season.

Wood goalkeeper James Russell is going because of his increased workload in his day job as part of the goalkeeping coaching structure at Chelsea.

Garrard told Boreham Wood’s club website: “Losing James is an obvious blow to me after his 16 clean sheets last season.

"He’s also been outstanding over the last three or four seasons. He’s been loyal, honest and he’s just a great guy to work with.

“However the bottom line is his job at Chelsea has changed, it is a very good change for James’ career and it was just too good to turn down.”

He will play one final game for Boreham Wood though. Russell will be in goal for them in their pre-season match against Brentford on Friday, July 8, to say goodbye to the supporters.

Russell told the Wood website: “I am so proud to have been a part of the club’s progression and Boreham Wood are now a National League club on merit.

"I’m so grateful to be leaving on a high after helping us to secure the club’s National League status for another season and for everyone’s understanding regarding my day job."

He added: “I would also like to wish the club and of course the Wood Army, all the best going forward and to thank every supporter for their encouragement over the years and of course for voting me their Player of the Year last season.

"It meant so much and I look forward to being able to say goodbye properly at the Brentford game and to coming back when possible to watch a game or two.”