Athletic article on FS17:
Heir to Jimenez or a ‘crazy’ fee? Why Wolves paid record £35m for Fabio Silva
By Tim Spiers and Adam Crafton 10m ago
For a deal that smashed Wolves’ transfer record, Fabio Silva’s move to Molineux didn’t take long to complete.
Just four years ago, Wolves’ record buy was £7 million for Ivan Cavaleiro — on Saturday, they agreed to pay £35 million for another Portuguese forward in 18-year-old Silva, from Porto. When owners Fosun said they were committed to trying to make Wolves one of English football’s elite clubs and would back that up with continued investment, they weren’t lying.
That £35 million, as with almost all of the club’s transfers, will be paid in instalments throughout the duration of Silva’s five-year contract.
Silva has been watched by Wolves for around three years but he was always thought of as unattainable by the many clubs tracking him across Europe given his prolific goal record at youth level and a huge buyout clause of £110 million. Porto have a reputation for bringing through youngsters for a number of seasons before selling them on.
That situation changed just a week ago, with Porto needing to sell to raise funds this summer — which is where superagent Jorge Mendes came in to broker a deal. Porto now have some of the funds they need to stay within Financial Fair Play regulations, Wolves have a highly-rated forward far sooner than many expected he would be available.
So what exactly has £35 million bought them? For a start, Silva is an “out and out” No 9. Yes, he could play wider but central striker is his primary position, in the Raul Jimenez mould. With Jimenez turning 30 next year, and being courted by other clubs, it is easy to see Silva as his heir.
Twenty goals in 26 matches for Porto Under-19s and 17 in 37 for Portugal’s youth sides have made him one of the dominant No 9s in European youth football but what Wolves like most about Silva is the way he leads the line.
His YouTube highlights reel won’t be jaw-dropping because Silva scores what look like simple goals; close-range headers and 10-yard finishes, via intelligent movement around the box.
“Always in the right place at the right time… but that’s not luck,” is how he was described to The Athletic.
“The ball always falls to him because he knows where to find it. He’s a dangerous forward. He can create space for himself, he knows when to move away from the ball, he doesn’t really score worldies because he’s so adept at getting in great positions inside the box.”
At 6ft, Silva is similar to Jimenez in that he can hold it up, bring team-mates into play, score with his head and both feet, and is happy to run into channels. He has played out wide but he’s not a forward who will run at defenders with blistering pace — more likely he’ll play one-twos from wider positions and move inside.
Wolves were also struck by his determined personality, a strong work ethic and a winning mentality. “He works his socks off and presses from the front. He’ll battle against centre-backs and out-think them,” a source said. Silva was said to be Portugal’s best player whenever Wolves went to watch him.
Silva has been a star in his country’s youth sides but is said to be, as is Wolves’ staunch preference, humble and hard-working. Those are facets that are “non-negotiable” when it comes to new signings.
He’ll also have the best possible chance of settling in England in the close-knit Portuguese-speaking community that has sprung up in Tettenhall and Compton, where the majority of Wolves’ players live.
Negatives? Well no, not really, other than perhaps the fee, which even Wolves would probably admit is over the odds for a youngster who’s only played 182 minutes of league football. In fact, it’s most unlike them in the Fosun era — Wolves have been done many a good turn by Mendes in terms of bargain transfer fees (Joao Moutinho: £5 million; Ruben Vinagre: £2 million; Willy Boly: £10 million; Ruben Neves: £15 million, and so on) but for the player they are getting right now, £35 million is steep.
Back home in Portugal, not everyone is so convinced.
One senior figure at a leading Portuguese club described the fee as “crazy”, while regular observers of Porto’s youth prospects identified Tomas Esteves, a full-back, as the real steal to be found among the club’s latest batch of talent.
The Portugal-based scout Premier League club scout countered: “He’s the best striker from the 2002 age group, for sure, but not yet ready to start games in the Premier League.”
It’s hard to imagine Wolves would pay £35 million for a player and then stick him on the bench but that’s the likely scenario in the coming weeks for Silva, who will be tutored by Nuno Espirito Santo and Jimenez as he eases his way into English — and senior — football.
Silva with Jeff Shi, Wolves’ chairman, after the record-breaking deal (Photo: Wolverhampton Wanderers FC/Getty Images)
It may be a lofty price but Wolves believe that if he’d been in Porto’s first team for the next three years, that £110 million buyout clause could have been his market value, in a similar vein to Joao Felix. Therefore, when the opportunity came to take advantage of Porto’s financial woes and buy a potential superstar for what could end up being a bargain sum, Wolves took it.
They envisage Silva will get plenty of game time this season, probably featuring in most matches, even if that’s off the bench as a late replacement to ease the tremendous burden on Jimenez.
Talking of Jimenez, The Athletic understands there are currently no live bids for him, Adama Traore, Neves or any of Wolves’ first-team players. While a big-money offer could instantly change the situation, as it stands Wolves are as confident as they can be of keeping their star names.
The capture of Lyon’s 31-year-old left-sided defender Fernando Marcal for around £2 million is likely to be followed today by the signing of a central midfielder on loan, with an option to buy. Marcal, who impressed during Lyon’s surprising run to the Champions League semi-finals last month, can play left wing-back or left centre-back and was coming towards the end of his contract. He had told Lyon he wouldn’t be extending his deal as he wanted a new challenge.
After Marcal and that new midfielder, as it stands Wolves plan to make one more addition — at right wing-back to replace Matt Doherty following his move to Tottenham Hotspur. Traore is likely to fill in at wing-back if nobody arrives before next Monday’s season-opener away to Sheffield United.
With Marcal, Romain Saiss, Conor Coady, Boly and Leander Dendoncker, plus Max Kilman, Christian Marques and Owen Otasowie in reserve, they feel they have enough cover at centre-half.
A move for Ainsley Maitland-Niles remains at an impasse, with Arsenal not currently looking to sell. The player is also said to prefer a role in midfield, which may rule out a transfer to Molineux. However, Wolves will keep tabs on the situation should Maitland-Niles not feature regularly for Mikel Arteta once the season starts.
