Fábio Silva: Portuguese youngster finding happiness in Spain, wins La Liga monthly award
November has been a memorable month for Fábio Silva. Not only did the young striker make his senior debut for Portugal against Croatia, but Silva was named La Liga’s under-23 Player of the Month for his recent performances for Las Palmas.
Since leaving FC Porto in a big money move to Wolverhampton Wanderers at the age of 18 just four years ago, Silva has endured a turbulent career, during which he has been perpetually loaned out to various clubs outside England. Now, the forward says he may have found the perfect setting in Spanish football.
Wolves paid a remarkable €40m for Silva despite his inexperience and tender years in the summer of 2020. The teenager struggled for minutes under both Nuno Espírito Santo and Bruno Lage during his first 18 months at the club, leading to a succession of loan moves to Anderlecht of Belgium, PSV of the Netherlands and Scottish outfit Rangers.
During the summer, the decision was made early to once again move Silva on, with Spaniards Las Palmas taking him on a season-long loan move. It means that at the age of just 22, Silva has now played in six different countries, but the former Porto man believes the switch to Spain may have come at the perfect stage of his development and could be a long-term setting.
“I always wanted to play in La Liga, which would give me more things,” Silva told DAZN Portugal last week. “After the Premier League, it’s the most watched. The places I’ve been are making me stand out in La Liga, in the other leagues I was forced to hold the ball more in attacking and defensive duels. Now I don’t feel that difficulty as much.
“Now I have the experience to play in this league. Game after game I’ve improved. Now I have to keep going. I can see myself, without a doubt, staying in La Liga for a long time.”
Silva has five goal contributions (4 goals, 1 assist) from his ten appearances for relegation-battlers Las Palmas. He was named U23 Player of the Month for his efforts in November and along with fellow Portuguese, midfielder Dário Essugo (on loan from Sporting), he is considered one of the leading figures in the Canary Islanders’ fight for survival.
“I started very early [in my career] and I had to learn things very quickly, perhaps the context I was placed in at the beginning was not the best, but there are things in life that we cannot control,” he reflected.
“Everything I have had to go through, good or bad times, alone or with my agent, has only made me stronger. Today I feel like a fulfilled player who can play in any type of system, variants and I am a happy player. I think that is noticeable and every game I have improved in certain aspects.
“The ups and downs are there to help and will continue to do so. Nowadays, little of what I have been through affects me and I am prepared for anything.”
By @SeanGillen9