An in-depth look at the career of our latest summer arrival, Rúben Vinagre…
Born in Charneca de Caparica, the Portuguese left-back penned his first professional contract with French Ligue 1 outfit AS Monaco after signing from Sporting CP in 2015.
Vinagre won his first cap for Portugal at Under-16s level that year and went on to play in every age group up to Under-21s, totalling 55 youth international appearances.
He was named in the team of the tournament as the Under-17s won the 2016 European Championship – a feat he repeated with the Under-19s two years later.
His first taste of senior and English football came during a season long-loan spell in 2017/18 with Wolverhampton Wanderers, making his debut in a 1-0 EFL Cup victory over Yeovil Town.
Vinagre made nine Championship appearances as Wolves lifted the second-tier crown under Nuno Espírito Santo and scored his only league goal to date in a 4-0 battering of Burton Albion.
The defender featured 21 times as Wolves secured European qualification after finishing an impressive seventh in their first season back in the Premier League, earning a new five-year deal.
The Molineux men recorded a second successive top-seven finish in 2019/20 and reached the quarter-finals of the Europa League.
A key part of their first continental adventure for 39 years, Vinagre scored in victories over Crusaders and FC Pyunik, with 13 of his 33 appearances that season coming in Europe.
He joined Wolves’ last-16 opponents, Olympiakos, on loan in October of the following season but only played four games for the Greek champions – two of them in the Champions League.
The versatile left-sider spent the second half of 2020/21 back in his homeland with Primeira Liga side Famalicão, where he made 20 appearances.
He returned to his native Portugal for the 2021/22 season as he rejoined his former academy side Sporting, lifting the Taça da Liga and not tasting defeat in his 16 domestic outings.
Also featuring twice in the Champions League, Vinagre signed for Sporting permanently in July 2022, bringing his time at Wolves to an end after 70 appearances in gold and black.
Before the month was out, he was back in Britain after signing for Frank Lampard’s Everton on a season-long loan.
A frustrating spell saw him make just four appearances for the Toffees last term – two in the Premier League and two in the EFL Cup.
Vinagre arrives at the MKM Stadium with experience of winning promotion from the Championship and playing in three top-flight divisions and two of Europe’s major club competitions.
Rúben has signed up for the next chapter - and you can too!