Wolves opinion: Should Nuno Santo sell Ruben Vinagre?

According to a report from the Mirror, Wolves’ Portuguese starlet Ruben Vinagre has been attracting serious interest from Spanish champions Barcelona. The report claims that the Catalan giants have monitored the young full-back since he was 16 years old.

Barcelona have been on the lookout for a backup left-back for Jordi Alba. The likes of Alberto Moreno and Nacho Monreal have been linked with a move to Camp Nou but the report reveals that Barcelona want to sign Vinagre in the summer.

Liverpool are also interested in signing the 19-year-old in the summer, to replace their outbound full-back, Alberto Moreno. However, Wolves would be foolish to let the former Monaco man leave, especially after his performances this season.

After a fantastic campaign on loan in the Championship last season, Wolves signed Ruben Vinagre permanently from Monaco for £10million last summer. The 19-year-old has made 19 appearances so far under Nuno Espirito Santo and has been impressive on every occasion.

Wolves have had a phenomenal season, having made it to the semi-finals of the FA Cup and are now very close to European qualification for next season. One of the reasons behind their great season was their transfer activity last summer.

The likes of Jimenez and Moutinho have worked wonders for the club all campaign but losing anybody in the summer would be hugely detrimental to Wolves’ development as a club in the coming years.

Vinagre has shown real promise at a tender age in the Premier League and the youngster has a massive future ahead of him. The former Monaco man can expect to feature a lot more next season than he has this campaign if Wolves manage to finish in the top 7.

Vinagre has shown his ability to play in a much more advanced role too, having featured on the left flank numerous times this season. His versatility will surely give him more game time under Nuno Santo, who has led his squad phenomenally so far.

Vinagre will be desperately short of game time if he makes a move to a club like Barcelona, where Jordi Alba has cemented the first-choice role for himself. Vinagre’s best bet to develop as a top-class player will be to stay at Wolverhampto for a few more years, at least until he hits his peak.

Conclusion

Wolves should at no cost allow Ruben Vinagre to leave in the summer. Vinagre has great potential, which will be wasted at a club like Barcelona, where he will struggle for game time.

Read more Wolves news, click here: Wolves latest news

Wolves should fend off all the interest from Liverpool and Barcelona in the summer and make sure that the 19-year-old continue his development at the Molineux for the coming years.