For many Wolves fans, Fabio Silva is one of the worst transfers the club has made in recent history.
The strike arrived at Molineux back in 2020, with Wolves forking out a whopping £35.4 million to sign the youngster from FC Porto.
Silva had not featured much for the first-team, but Wolves were happy to pay a then club-record fee, essentially for his potential.
Unfortunately, Silva never lived up to his billing. The youngster had a tricky first season due to playing more than intended because of the injury to Raul Jimenez.
His transfer fee has weighed heavy on him, and Silva has even admitted he didn’t necessarily want to join Wolves, suggesting the money involved was too big.
But things have been looking up for him lately with Roberto Martinez calling Silva up to the senior Portugal squad – and the manager has now explained his reasons for doing so.
Roberto Martinez says Wolves striker Fabio Silva is ‘different’ to his other options
Photo by Joe Prior/Visionhaus via Getty Images
Lots of players have been pulling out of international duty during this international break and it’s been no different for Portugal.
After beating Poland 5-1 in the Nations League, Martinez spoke to reporters and stated that four players will now be dismissed from his squad – Bernardo Silva, Pedro Neto, Bruno Fernandes and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Fabio Silva has therefore been called up to the senior squad, for the first time in his career.
He’s been rewarded for an upturn in form recently with Las Palmas, and Martinez gave some reasons for his decision.
He said (quoted by O Jogo): “We followed Fábio Silva for many months, because he is a player who has a lot of good movements, has the ability to open spaces, to play in the back of the opponent’s goal. Going to a new club gave him more impact in the box, his numbers improved a lot.
“He is a different player, there is no Fábio Silva in the National Team at the moment. He worked hard and deserves to be at this level now.”
With Portugal having assured top spot in their Nations League group, there is a very good chance Silva could actually make his debut against Croatia tomorrow night.
A nice moment for Silva after a tough time
It must be a great feeling for Silva to be called up to the senior Portugal squad for the first time, given his struggles in recent years.
It hasn’t happened for him at Wolves, and he also struggled at Rangers before his move to Las Palmas where he seems to have settled quite well.
Fabio Silva for Wolves (2020-present)Fabio Silva for Las Palmas (2024-present)Appearances – 72Appearances – 9Goals – 5Goals – 3Assists – 6Assists – 1
It’s been tough for him at Wolves. While he has disappointed, he’s also been unlucky regarding his use. He was never meant to play as much as he did in his first season at the club, and then when Jimenez returned, there was an argument that he should have actually featured more.
His price tag, which he never chose, appeared to weigh heavy, and his transfer just didn’t work out. Silva recently insisted that he wasn’t to blame for his transfer fee.
The likelihood is that Wolves will listen to offers for the player next summer and the club will hope to recoup as much of that initial investment as possible.
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