Wolverhampton Wanderers star Fabio Silva has found game time hard to come by after being linked with a summer departure.
Wolverhampton Wanderers star Fabio Silva is ‘struggling’ to meet expectations at Molineux, and transfer insider Dean Jones has told GIVEMESPORT when boss Gary O’Neil could look to cash in.
Although the striker wrote his name into the history books when he became Wolves’ club-record signing thanks to sealing a £35million switch from Portuguese giants Porto three years ago, he has failed to make a telling impact in the West Midlands.
But Wanderers opted to keep Silva on board when they allowed the likes of Ruben Neves, Matheus Nunes and Raul Jimenez to embark on a fresh challenge as close to £150million was recouped from departures during the summer window.
Silva on periphery after summer move blocked
Ajax, Bayer Leverkusen and Villarreal were keen to lure Silva away from Wolves ahead of the September deadline, according to Birmingham Live, but the trio were left frustrated as a deal was not rubber-stamped.
The report suggests O’Neil, who was appointed as Wanderers’ head coach following Julen Lopetegui’s decision to walk away from the post just a matter of days before the season got underway, was eager to retain the Portugal under-21 international’s services due to there being a potential opportunity to reignite his Molineux career.
But Silva has struggled to secure regular game time due to Matheus Cunha leaping to the top of the pecking order, restricting him to just 364 minutes of action since the campaign got underway.
The lack of involvement comes after the frontman was hoping to build on a fruitful loan spell with PSV Eindhoven, where he played a key role in qualifying for the Champions League thanks to getting his name on the scoresheet five times and providing a further two assists for his teammates in 19 outings.
The Eredivisie giants were also keen to seal a deal which would see Silva return to the Philips Stadion during the summer, while further suitors in Italy and Turkey came to the fore, but O’Neil refused to budge from his stance after moving into the hot-seat.
Silva’s stint with PSV came after he also racked up 15 goal contributions in an Anderlecht shirt, with his loan to the Belgian side cut short to facilitate the temporary switch.
But Sunday People chief sports writer Neil Moxley recently told GIVEMESPORT that the 21-year-old should prioritise securing a January move away from Wolves as he has shown no signs of being worth the lucrative fee his current employers paid.
Dean Jones update – Fabio Silva
Although Jones believes Silva has been a major disappointment in a Wolves shirt, he is aware that he is still in the early stages of his career and there is time to develop.
But the respected journalist feels O’Neil should seriously consider cashing in on the £80,000-per-week outcast next summer if improvements are not made during the remainder of the campaign.
Jones told GIVEMESPORT:
“Fabio Silva is such a difficult player to judge because he is still only 21. He was obviously signed after a pretty spectacular rise, particularly when it comes to the terms he was signed on and the age that he was to come into the Premier League and try to make an impact.
“Time on loan shouldn’t have done him any harm, but he still seems to be struggling to live up to the potential that Wolves initially saw in him.
“I don’t think it’s time to totally give up on him. But, certainly, by the end of this season, if he hasn’t managed to make a breakthrough, I think Wolves are going to have to decide where they go with this one.”
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