"I wish" - Regret still lingers over Plymouth Argyle's Ruben Lameiras decision | OneFootball

The Portuguese star produced many moments of magic during his time as a Pilgrim

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Plymouth Argyle will have their fair share of players that they wish would have stayed put at Home Park for longer than they did, with the Green Army able to rattle of a list as long as your arm of players who flew the nest too soon.

Whether it be an incredible loan signing who quickly made his way up the footballing pyramid (I’m looking at you Scott Sinclair), or the plentiful players who were sold to keep the lights on during the administration years, there have been too many to name that the locals would have had at Home Park for keeps.

In recent times, there has been many a star who has used the Theatre of Greens as a springboard for their career, with Ruben Lameiras being just one, with the Portuguese star keeping the Janners jolly during his two-year stint as a Pilgrim between 2017 and 2019.

Football League World’s resident Argyle fan pundit Chris won’t be the only supporter who wished the playmaker stayed in green for a little while longer, with the ex-Tottenham man lighting up the dance floor with his moves on a regular basis during his time in Devon.

Ruben Lameiras excels during Plymouth Argyle spell

After making the move from Coventry City, Lameiras immediately caught the eye with his all-action performances at Home Park, with his ingenuity and quick-thinking proving too hot to handle for many a League One defence.

After having to wait until late December for his first goal in green, Lameiras rediscovered his scoring tough as 2018 took hold, with three goals in four games spearheading a distinct turnaround in form for the Pilgrims.

Having been struggling for form at the start of the campaign, the Greens’ momentum continued to grow, with Lameiras playing a major part alongside the similarly mercurial Graham Carey.

The two in tandem were a joy to behold; with the Irishman’s verve and unpredictability married with the Portuguese’s grace, guile and gusto making them simply unplayable for the second-half of the campaign, as Chris reminisces.

The Argyle fan said: “I think many Argyle fans would agree that there are plenty of players they could choose from who they wish played in green just a little bit longer.

"From Graham Carey, to more recently Finn Azaz and Michael Cooper, who went off to Middlesbrough and Sheffield United respectively.

“But one player who sticks in my mind from recent years is Ruben Lameiras, the Portuguese winger.

"He signed for Argyle from Coventry City, and having played in the 2017/18 and 2018/19 seasons, he was offered a new contract, but turned it down to go back to his home country and play in Portugal.

“He was a fast, rapid, high-performing winger, who had great technical ability and was a fantastic team player, who soon became a fan favourite at the time.

“He is a player who I wish we could have kept for at least one more season, or maybe two, because he offered so much potential and so much ability to help the team going forward during those times.”

Ruben Lameiras improves in second Plymouth Argyle season

Having already shown glimpses of what he could do when given a sight of goal, Lameiras’ potency with the net at his mercy turned up a notch in the 18/19 season, with eleven league goals seeing him establish himself as a top EFL performer.

With his twinkle toes and newfound lethal instinct, the creative midfielder was running the show on a more regular basis, with six goals in four games around the turn of the year emphasising as much.

Oxford United and former club Coventry City both felt the brunt of his actions during that spell, with match-defining braces coming alongside strikes against Burton Albion and Southend United, as he continued to run riot.

With his contract soon running out, just like Argyle’s time in League One, it looked like an impossibility that he would be playing his football at Home Park the following season, and so it proved, as a move to Familicao in his homeland proved too good to turn down.

While the Greens prepared for the fourth tier Lameiras was going on to the first back in Portugal; thus proving just what a talent the club had on their hands at the time.