Ruben Vinagre is no longer a Wolverhampton Wanderers player with Ruben Amorim confirming Sporting Lisbon have signed the Premier League youngster for £9 million, speaking to A Bola.
As recently as December, reports emerging from Iberia suggested that Vinagre would be heading back to Molineux, having struggled for regular game-time in the Portuguese capital.
It’s safe to say we can now file those claims under B for ‘baseless speculation’.
Vinagre’s lack of minutes, Amorim explains, is due to his recent injury problems rather than anything to do with his form.
Speculation suggesting that the jet-heeled left-back had lost the faith of the reigning Primeira Liga champions, it seems, were very much wide of the mark.
“He is part of our project. We have young players we want to bet on,” explains Amorim.
“We really believe in Ruben. (Signing him permanently) was something we thought about at the beginning but the purchase is official now.”
Are Wolves right to part with Ruben Vinagre?
Vinagre, a Portugal U21 international, has played 13 games since joining Sporting last summer, including two in the Champions League.
If all goes to plan, he will be plying his trade at the Estadio Jose Alvalade until at least 2027.
“I think of Vinagre as a team player,” adds Amorim, recently tipped to replace Marcelo Bielsa at Leeds United after guiding Sporting to their first domestic title in two decades.
“We count on him and he knows the hope we have in him. He has a five-year contract and we have time to help Ruben.”
Vinagre was seen as one of the most exciting prospects at Molineux not so long ago, featuring over 30 times in Wolves’ first two seasons back in the Premier League under Nuno Espirito Santo.
He fell out of favour ahead of 2020/21, however, farmed out on loan out to Olympiakos and Famalicao. Wolves have since brought in another swashbuckling left-back; Rayan Ait Nouri.
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