Ricky Aguiar is proving that he is ready for a step up to a higher division during his loan spell in the National League South with Worthing.

The midfielder has found the back of the net six times in 14 appearances for the Woodside Road club, putting him in sixth place in the division for goals and second among midfielders.

He scored his last goal at the weekend away against third-place Bath City, with a run in-behind and a calm finish that was not too dissimilar to how Dan Kemp has scored goals this season.

Speaking to Peter Vale, lead commentator for Rebel Yell, he said that he has seen real growth in Aguiar from when he was first with Worthing three seasons ago.

He said: “He has definitely matured as a player, without a shadow of a doubt.

“His passing range was good before, but he is on another level now, some of the crossfield balls he plays are just unbelievable.

“He played one against Yeovil, it could only have been three feet off the deck and he has put the ball out to the right wing and he has beaten about four of their players with this one ball. It was a joy to behold.

“He is also adding goals now, he wasn’t prolific before, he would score the odd freekick or the odd one from range, but nothing like he is doing now.

“He is popping up on the edge of the opposition penalty area, occasionally when we do go direct he is taking up good positions and I think three of his goals have come from those sorts of positions.”

Aguiar has played in all 14 of Worthing’s National League South games this season and it is this consistency that Vale believes is helping him to grow.

The 22-year-old’s longest run in the Swindon team across his two seasons at the County Ground was six starts in a row, and aside from that he was never trusted to start in consecutive games.

He said: “He might not have been quite ready [for the Football League before], possibly. He has definitely matured a lot.

“I have not had many conversations with him, but when I do speak to him he does seem to have grown up an awful lot.

“He has a good relationship with the gaffer [Adam Hinshelwood], he knows exactly what Ricky can do and he just lets him get on with it and play to his strengths.

“I feel regular football is helping him, that is when most players are at their happiest and I don’t think Ricky is any different, he wants to be involved and on the pitch.”

With Town’s squad problems causing issues to their League Two campaign, some fans have called for Aguiar to be brought back into the set-up at the County Ground, although Michael Flynn has previously stated this would not be possible until January.

Vale said that based on what he has seen from Aguiar this season, he definitely has the ability to be playing higher than the sixth tier.

He said: “I think most of the fans thought before ‘someone is going to snap Ricky up’ and it happened, which is always disappointing, but you want them to go onto bigger and better things.

“I see no reason why he couldn’t play in League Two, he has definitely got it.

“Watching him play I think he is definitely better than National League South, just with his passing range and getting stuck in in the midfield, he has definitely got that real quality which is there to see.”