Fabio Silva will have 'successful' football career but it 'won't be at Wolves'

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·3 December 2023

Fabio Silva will have 'successful' football career but it 'won't be at Wolves'

Highlights

Wolverhampton Wanderers striker could still enjoy a successful career in football, but it's unlikely to be at Molineux or in England.
Wolves head coach Gary O'Neil has favoured Matheus Cunha and Sasa Kalajdzic in the number nine role, with Silva's last top-flight start coming in September 2023.
Wanderers could look to make another striker addition during the 2024 winter transfer window, with a £10m Europa Conference League talent linked.

Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Fabio Silva could have a successful career in football, but it’s unlikely to be at Molineux, as Talking Wolves presenter Dave Azzopardi provides his verdict on the centre-forward.

Wolves head coach Gary O’Neil has been reluctant to utilise the number nine ahead of alternative options in his squad as the 2020 signing considers his future in the Black Country.

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Silva was offered several opportunities at the start of the 2023/24 Premier League campaign but dropped out of the side in favour of Matheus Cunha, with Wanderers hitting a decent patch of form. Wolves could explore options for the striker in the 2024 winter transfer window, having splashed the cash on him, hoping he would become a top-level Premier League forward.

Silva’s difficult campaign at Wolves

The 2023/24 season was set up to be Silva’s breakthrough season as a first-choice Premier League striker with Wolves. The 21-year-old was signed in a deal worth £35m in September 2020, but he struggled to nail down his place in the team due to a lack of form in the final third of the pitch.

Silva was offered the opportunity to lead the line under Nuno Espirito Santo after Raul Jimenez suffered a horrifying fractured skull injury in a 2-1 victory at Arsenal in November 2020. But four goals across the next two seasons was enough for then-head coach Bruno Lage to send the Portugal U21 international on loan to Anderlecht and PSV Eindhoven. Silva would score 16 goals and register six assists across 51 appearances during the 2022/23 season, standing him in good stead to become a Premier League regular for Wolves.

However, the current campaign hasn’t been kind to the Porto youth academy product. Silva’s only goal came in a 5-0 Carabao Cup second-round victory over Blackpool in August, having fired blanks in eight Premier League appearances before Wolves’ trip to Arsenal on 3rd December. The centre-forward’s last top flight start came in a 3-2 defeat at Crystal Palace at the start of September, with Cunha and Sasa Kalajdzic being the preferred options of O’Neil’s choosing.

Azzopardi has also told GIVEMESPORT (29th November) that Wolves will make a ‘heavy loss’ on the then-club record fee they spent on Silva in 2020. However, successful spells abroad hint that the young talent could still have a decent career elsewhere in Europe.

Dave Azzopardi on Fabio Silva

Azzopardi believes Silva is a “good footballer” but can’t see his career taking off at Wolves or in England. The Talking Wolves presenter concludes that Portuguese talent is last in the pecking order out of the club’s centre-forward options. Azzopardi told GIVEMESPORT:

“It's hard with Silva. He’s a player that I think is a good footballer. I think he will have a successful football career. I don't think it'll be in England or at Wolves, given that the club have made it pretty clear, even since the end of summer and throughout the last couple of months or so, that they want a striker. I think Kalajdzic has proved that he's got a bit of quality, and Cunha has proved that he can do something as a number nine, although you probably want to see more goals from him. I think Silva is just last in that pecking order now.”

Wolves transfer news

Unfortunately for Silva’s Wolves career, O’Neil seems interested in further strengthening his forward department, emphasising the lack of opportunities for the centre-forward to make a fist of his time at Molineux. According to a report in The Telegraph from October, Wanderers are set to avoid punishment from the Premier League, having generated £140m in player sales during the 2023 summer transfer window to prevent breaching profit and sustainability rules.

The same article claims that, whilst Wolves are still expected to be careful when spending during the 2024 winter transfer window, O’Neil would like to add a number nine to his squad. That’s because the former AFC Bournemouth head coach feels Cunha can operate in a free role behind the number nine, with Kalajdzic needing cover at Molineux.

In November, The Telegraph’s journalist John Percy revealed that Wolves face competition from Eintracht Frankfurt for Viktoria Plzen striker Rafiu Durosinmi. The 20-year-old fits the club’s profile of recruiting young and hungry players for reasonable value.

Plzen are seeking a package worth up to £10m for Durosinmi, who has already hit the back of the net in the Europa Conference League during the 2023/24 season. Personal terms are currently considered a stumbling block to a deal being completed, but O’Neil’s side remain determined to retain an interest in the new year.