When Wolverhampton Wanderers broke their transfer record to sign precocious 18-year-old Fabio Silva for £35.6m in 2020, optimism was rife that the club had clinched the services of a possible prodigy.
Speaking of the deal, chairman Jeff Shi said: "Fabio is a young player who shows not only incredible technical ability, but also his game intelligence for a player of his age is top class."
The Old Gold did not meld with the Portuguese teenager as anticipated, and Silva only managed to clinch four goals from 62 appearances before being shipped out on loan last summer to Belgian outfit Anderlecht, where he was recalled and pushed out to PSV Eindhoven in January.
The Premier League outfit will remain positive that Silva can hit the rich vein of form desired in the midlands, especially after the forward has enjoyed some fruitful fortunes this season.
How has Fabio Silva played this season?
Silva's quality has never been in question, rather, his physical presence and authority in the thick of the robustness of the Premier League, but at such a young age there is still plenty of time to make the increments to his physicality to partner the innate goal-scoring threat.
He is improving quickly, though, and has scored 15 goals and served five assists from 33 starts across his two temporary outfits this term.
What's been said about Fabio Silva?
Prior to his sojourns in Belgium and the Netherlands, The Mail's Ollie Lewis even hailed his "enormous potential" in August and said he "led the line superbly with his energy and physicality."
Former Old Gold captain Conor Coady also waxed lyrical over the rising star last year, praising the now 20-year-old for his impact on the squad, belying his youthful years and inexperience.
He said: "He’s been fantastic since he came in. He works so, so hard to improve and get better, and you see that now. We know when he comes into the team, he’ll do a job, and that’s what he’s doing at the minute."
Who could Silva replace at Wolves?
With Silva's development perhaps leaving him in good stead to forge a second surge for a place as the undisputed talisman at Molineux, Lopetegui must consider axing Diego Costa, with the 34-year-old striker failing to find the back of the net since his summer arrival as a free transfer.
Indeed, Costa has played 16 matches this season and failed to record even one direct contribution, and it is hard to envisage that his one-year deal will be extended.
As per Sofascore, the Spaniard has recorded an average league rating of only 6.56, taking 1.5 shots per match but unable to strike the back of the net; Costa's 0.4 key passes per match are below par too, his verve and efficiency waning after his past feats on English soil, starring for Chelsea and scoring 52 goals from 89 outings en-route to winning two Premier League titles.
With Silva in the maiden phase of his career and already boasting, as per WhoScored, 1.4 shots and 0.4 key passes per match – almost identical numbers to his senior peer – the ace could unleash the "monster" inside – as hailed by Jack Collins – and devastate Premier League defences with a shot at prominence at Molineux once again next term.
