With Dani Sánchez the only recognised specialist at left-back heading into pre-season and Rafita having been shifted over to the opposite flank to cover, filling the role became one of the more pressing tasks on sporting director Loren Juarros' summer list, and he and head coach Juanfran Funes were reportedly reluctant to rush the appointment. Salinas becomes the club's fourth signing of the window, following the earlier arrivals of Fernando Calero, Juan Cruz and the returning Carlos Dotor.
Salinas, from Callosa de Segura in Alicante, turns 26 in September and joins with his contract at Espanyol running until 2028. He is an attack-minded full-back known for his forward runs and dangerous crosses, and impressed during the 2024/25 season on loan at Elche under Eder Sarabia, helping the club to promotion. His opportunities were more limited last season at Espanyol, where he made 11 appearances, two as a starter, totalling 249 minutes, unable to displace Carlos Romero, who had arrived on loan from Villarreal.
Salinas, who is valued at around €2.6m, arrived at Espanyol as a free agent last summer after his contract at Elche expired following the promotion campaign. After completing a medical and signing his contract at La Rosaleda, he has now joined straight into Málaga's pre-season training.
Salinas began his career at hometown club Callosa Deportiva before progressing through the youth ranks at Kelme and then Elche, where he made his first-team debut for the Ilicitanos' reserve side in the 2020/21 Copa del Rey. He was loaned to Unionistas de Salamanca in 2021/22, where he scored six goals in 37 Primera Federación appearances.
A further loan at Mirandés the following season saw him start 39 of 42 league matches as the club competed in the second tier, before he returned to Elche for two more campaigns and helped the club win promotion to LaLiga in 2024/25.
He then moved to Espanyol last summer as a free agent, arriving to fill the void left by Carlos Romero's return to parent club Villarreal and Brian Oliván's departure, and made his top-flight debut at the club that still holds his federative rights.