Wolverhampton Wanderers would prefer to sell Ruben Vinagre but may be forced to accept a loan deal instead with Portuguese champions Sporting Lisbon stepping up their interest, as reported by the Express and Star.
If the little left-back is disappointed about the way his Molineux career is coming to an end, sealing a move to a club who won their first Primeira Liga title since 2002 would be some consolation.
Sporting look set to retain the services of Nuno Mendes for another season.
But a club renowned for their ability to find, develop and sell on diamonds in the rough will know, deep down, that 19-year-old Mendes is not going to be sticking around forever, especially with Liverpool and Manchester City sniffing around.
Vinagre, then, may be viewed as something of a succession plan at the Estadio Jose Alvalade – a player capable of competing with and then replacing Mendes in Ruben Amorim’s starting XI.
According to the Express and Star, Wolves would not stand in Vinagre’s way if Sporting make an offer.
The Premier League outfit would prefer to sell outright however, and with Los Leoes pushing instead for a loan-to-buy deal, there are clearly still compromises that much be reached before Vinagre can pack his bags and head back to Portugal.
Has Ruben Vinagre played his final game for Wolves?
The fact that Vinagre appears to have no future at Wolves does come as something of a surprise, however, given that Jonny Castro Otto and Marcal struggled badly with injuries last season.
Furthermore, the departure of Rayan Ait-Nouri following a hit-and-miss loan spell from Angers means that Wolves do not have an obvious, first-choice left-back heading into Bruno Lage’s first season at Molineux.
“He’s progressing, improving in a lot of things – tactically, technically,” Nuno Espirito Santo said back in 2020 of a man who was expected to stay at Wolves for years to come.
“The talent is there and that’s why Vinagre is massively important to us. He’s so versatile and can give us some different things during the game.
“He’s special.”
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