Wolverhampton Wanderers have made a habit of signing Portuguese players in recent years. Some, like the signings of Diogo Jota, Ruben Neves and Pedro Neto, proved to be resounding successes. All three enjoyed stellar careers at Molineux before moving on to pastures new.
Others, however, like the signings of Silvio, Ruben Vinagre, Francisco Trincao and Goncalo Guedes, didn’t work out, or haven’t worked out, quite so well.
Guedes’ time in the West Midlands has been particularly underwhelming. Since completing a £27.5 million move to Wolves from Valencia in 2022, he’s made just 25 appearances for the club, spending the majority of the last two seasons out on-loan, first with his boyhood club Benfica and then with Villarreal.
He’s now back at Molineux, but according to recent reports from Spain, the 27-year-old, who earns a whopping £90,000 per-week, wants to leave Wolves as soon as possible, with Villarreal among the potential takers.
Fabio Silva transfer update
Another of Wolves’ Portuguese flops who could soon be on his way out of the club is Fabio Silva. The 22-year-old striker joined Wolves from FC Porto for a club record fee of £35 million, but his time with the Wanderers has been nothing short of a disaster. In 73 games for the club, he’s scored just five goals and has been loaned out on four separate occasions.
Fabio Silva Career Stats | ||
Club | Games | Goals |
FC Porto | 21 | 3 |
Wolves | 73 | 5 |
Anderlecht (loan) | 32 | 11 |
PSV Eindhoven (loan) | 19 | 5 |
Rangers (loan) | 25 | 6 |
Las Palmas (loan) | 9 | 3 |
Total | 179 | 33 |
Currently, he resides in Spain with La Liga side Las Palmas, with whom he signed a one-year loan deal in the summer. Though he’s enjoyed a slight upturn in form in Gran Canaria, scoring three goals in nine games, according to Molineux News, Wolves have no interest in seeing him return to Molineux.
The publication reports that the club “want him off the wage bill” regardless of whether his form for Las Palmas continues, and that there are a number of clubs in Spain and Portugal that would be willing to take him on next year.
The next Neves? Not so much…
Big things were expected from Silva following his record move from Porto, with Wolves chairman Jeff Shi comparing his signing to that of Ruben Neves, who also joined from Porto five years prior.
“The timing of this deal is similar to the timing of when we bought Ruben Neves; we’ve waited for the right time to get a high-quality player at the right price,” said Shi.
On Silva’s supposed quality, Shi said: “Fabio has the potential to be a generational talent and for us to see him develop under Nuno is very exciting. He is the type of player our fans will love.”
It’s safe to say that Silva has not lived up to Shi’s words, both in terms of being compared to Neves, who is widely regarded as one of Wolves’ best-ever players, or being loved by the fans.
Earlier this year, Molineux News named Silva as Wolves’ worst signing of the Fosun era, describing him as a “failure”.
