Despite obvious talent, Wolves’ £35m move for 18-year-old starlet is a gamble that could go both ways

Why Wolves’ £35m deal for Fabio Silva looks like risky business

According to Sky Sports, Wolves have confirmed the signing of Portuguese striker Fabio Silva from FC Porto on a five-year deal for a club-record fee of £35million.

The monumental amount paid for the 18-year-old eclipses the £30m forked out by the Midlands outfit to sign Mexican star Raul Jimenez from Atletico Madrid back in 2019. 

As per the report, Silva had a mammoth £111.4m release clause in his contract at the Estadio do Dragao, meaning Wolves did a fantastic job to snap him up for what still looks like a massive ransom for a teenager. 

Wolves chairman Jeff Shi, though, has labelled the Portuguese U-19 starlet as a young player with excellent technical ability, while hailing him as a player with the potential to be a generational talent. (h/t Sky Sports)

Profile

Born in Gondomar, Portugal, Fabio Silva started his youth career with Porto before switching to rivals Benfica and then returning to his hometown club a couple of years later in 2017. 

The 18-year-old caught the eye with his rapid progress through various age-group levels at Porto while also impressing for Portugal in the youth circuit. Back in 2019, he scored 33 goals in 39 games to guide Porto’s U-19 side to UEFA Youth League glory, while also propelling Portugal to the U-19 European Championship title.

Silva’s prolific form at the youth level earned him a call-up to Porto’s senior side and he eventually made his debut against Gil Vicente in August last year. In doing so, he became the youngest league player in the club’s history.

The teenager subsequently went on to set new records as Porto’s youngest starter and youngest scorer over the course of his breakthrough campaign last term, scoring thrice in 21 appearances across all competitions. Silva, though, started only once in the Primeira Liga, featuring 12 times in the league overall.

Wolves could have used the funds in a better way

It goes without saying that Wolves were short of central striking options beyond regular first-choice hitman Raul Jimenez, heading into the upcoming campaign. The Mexican was clearly overworked last season as Wolves lacked a feasible alternative in that role following the departure of Patrick Cutrone to Fiorentina.

To that end, Wolves definitely needed to bring in a back-up central striker to reduce the workload on Jimenez, but the situation at Molineux called for a new recruit with the pedigree to make an instant impact in the Premier League next season. 

Now, that brings us to the question – Is Fabio Silva ready to make a big impact in the Premier League next season? Well, it’s difficult to back him for instant success in the highly-competitive English top-flight, given his tender years and lack of significant top-level experience.

Silva may have the potential to evolve into a future star in the years to come. But there remains a big question mark over whether he’s good enough to cater to the club’s immediate priority, which is to support Jimenez. 

Wolves will be hoping that he can rise to the occasion under Nuno Santo’s charismatic guidance. But the club’s recruitment could well come under some serious scrutiny if the 18-year-old fails to deliver on his potential. It’s hard to predict the future, no matter how talented an individual is. And Silva is no exception to that.

Another point that is worth discussing over here is the fee involved in the transfer. While Porto were well within their rights to demand a handsome ransom for their prized asset, one cannot help but feel whether Wolves needed to spend that kind of money on an unproven talent.

Wolves have followed it up with a move for Lyon defender Fernando Marcal, who is expected to add more depth at centre-back and left wing-back. However, they are yet to bring in a replacement for Matt Doherty, which again raises serious doubts over the decision to spend big on Silva.

Read more

• Why Wolves should prioritise a move for Unai Nunez this summer
• Why Wolves should sign Thierry Correia as Doherty replacement
• Opinion: Arsenal’s Ainsley Maitland-Niles would be a fantastic signing for Wolves

Verdict

To sum it up, Wolves have played a massive gamble with the acquisition of teenage starlet Fabio Silva, given that there are no guarantees that a player aged 18 would go on to fulfil his potential. However, the fans will be hoping for the best, and Wolves need to find a way to devise the best course of action for his development.