When Wolves paid around £35m to FC Porto for Fabio Silva, there were plenty of eyebrows raised at the level of the deal, and not just around the Premier League club.
The attacker had barely broken through at the Portuguese side, and therefore it was clear Wolves were paying a great deal based on what he’d done in the youth levels. Silva was highly rated in Portugal, as many youngsters are, but there was still some shock at how much the English club were willing to pay.
During his first season at Wolves, he was in and out of the side, as would be expected for a player who only turned 20-years-of-age last July, and scored four Premier League goals and added three assists.
Last season, he didn’t manage any in the league, picking up three in the cups.
This season saw a loan move to Anderlecht, and he’s been finding the back of the net, with nine goals in 22 appearances. That isn’t enough for the Belgian media, who still seem a little confused about what he brings.
Anderlecht are 12th out of 18 in the league table, a situation which is so poor for them that they sacked their manager this week. Wednesday’s edition of HLN makes clear it’s not a case of chopping the head off and expecting everything else to work out just fine.
Fabio Silva is used as an example of that, and it’s stated he loses more duels, as a percentage, than any other player in Belgium’s top flight. He’s also lost the most, in total, at Anderlecht this season, coming out on the wrong side 158 times.
One thing Silva is getting in Belgium is an experience of scrutiny, something which would only increase with Wolves in the Premier League.
