The summer transfer window is looming and for Fabio Silva, it’s arguably the biggest few months of his career so far.
Since completing a club-record £35 million transfer to Wolves in 2020, Fabio Silva has failed to showcase his goal-scoring prowess.
Silva was labelled a ‘generational talent’ upon his arrival at Molineux, but he’s soon transformed into a generational flop having failed to adapt to the demands of Premier League football.
The 22-year-old was sent out on loan to Anderlecht, PSV and Rangers to spark his career into life in recent years but unfortunately, he encountered similar problems away from Wolves.
However, since being loaned out to Las Palmas in La Liga, the Portuguese centre-forward has flourished and now Vitor Pereira has a big decision to make on his future.
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Vitor Pereira can unlock Fabio Silva’s potential
In the summer transfer window, Silva is likely to leave Wolves, with some feeling he’s overstayed his welcome in Wolverhampton.
But whilst his limited abilities in the Premier League have seen him flop with just five goals in 72 appearances for the club, Pereira could be the man to unlock his potential.
Pereira’s system encourages width and bombarding the box with crosses, a strategy that has allowed Jorgen Strand Larsen to flourish in hide debut campaign.
Silva is the definition of a penalty box striker, someone who comes alive in the box and is great at finishing chances.
On Monday night, Silva scored for Portugal’s U21s against England, showing clever movement in the penalty area to evade his marker and tap the ball into the net.
More impressively, the former Porto man has been doing the above all season at Las Palmas, becoming their main source of goals.
Silva has notched a respectable eight goals in 20 appearances for the La Liga side, and while some will point towards the standard of the division being lower, he could see this form as a chance to redeem himself in England.
How Silva compares to Jorgen Strand Larsen
Encouragingly, Silva’s style of play – making darting runs into the box and finishing chances – aligns to what Pereira wants from his striker.
“We will work on the spaces we need to attack, the movements that we need to do, and believe that the moment to go fast is the moment when the pass comes,” the 56-year-old told Wolves official in January.
“Sometimes it’s the last run, but the run with intelligence to open the space and to attack the space, which is the best, because a lot of times we have three or four players in the box, and we need to find the man who is free to score.”
More often than not this term, Strand Larsen has been the forward fashioning space in the box and rifling home his chances. But judging by Silva’s exploits in 2024/25, the Las Palmas loanee could rival the Norwegian with his skillset.
| Fabio Silva (2024/25) | Stats | Jorgen Strand Larsen (2024/25) |
| 21 (19) | Matches (started) | 30 (26) |
| 8 / 2 | Goals / Assists | 9 / 3 |
| 2.1 | Shots per game | 1.33 |
| 18.2% | Goal conversion | 22.5% |
| 6 / 13 | Big chances scored / Total | 7 / 17 |
| 160′ | Minutes per goal | 191′ |
| 0.57 | Key passes per game | 0.7 |
| 4.14 | Touches in opp. box per game | 3 |
| 45.5% | Percentage of duels won | 33.7% |
As demonstrated by the above table, Silva is averaging more shots per game, touches in the opponent’s box and winning more duels than Strand Larsen, which proves he could add another dimension to Wolves’ attack.
It may seem a controversial opinion, as the Portugal star has struggled in England previously, but perhaps working under Pereira’s exciting project can bring the very best out of him.