Fábio Silva (footballer, born 2002)

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Soares and the second or paternal family name is Silva.

Fábio Daniel Soares Silva
Silva with Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2021
Personal information
Full name Fábio Daniel Soares Silva[1]
Date of birth (2002-07-19) 19 July 2002 (age 21)
Place of birth Gondomar, Portugal
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[2]
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Rangers
(on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers)
Number 7
Youth career
2010–2015 Porto
2015–2017 Benfica
2017–2019 Porto
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2020 Porto 12 (1)
2020 Porto B 3 (0)
2020– Wolverhampton Wanderers 62 (4)
2022–2023 → Anderlecht (loan) 20 (7)
2023 → PSV (loan) 14 (4)
2024– → Rangers (loan) 12 (2)
International career‡
2017 Portugal U15 5 (3)
2017–2018 Portugal U16 8 (6)
2017–2019 Portugal U17 19 (5)
2019 Portugal U19 5 (3)
2021– Portugal U21 20 (10)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14:21, 14 April 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 18:41, 20 November 2023 (UTC)

Fábio Daniel Soares Silva (born 19 July 2002) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Scottish Premiership club Rangers, on loan from Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Silva made his professional debut for Porto in August 2019, and set several club records relating to his young age.

Club career[edit]

Early career[edit]

Born in Gondomar, Porto District, Silva began his career at Porto before transferring to rivals Benfica in 2015, then returning two years later. Silva was part of the squad that won the 2018–19 UEFA Youth League.[3] With 20 goals in 26 games for the under-19 team by February 2019, he was called up by manager Sérgio Conceição to train with the first team.[4]

Porto[edit]

He made his Primeira Liga debut for Porto on 10 August 2019 in a 2–1 loss at Gil Vicente, playing the final eleven minutes in place of Otávio;[5] at 17 years and 22 days, he surpassed Bruno Gama as the youngest league player in the club's history.[6] On 19 September against Young Boys in the UEFA Europa League group stage, he became the club's youngest player in European competitions, beating Rúben Neves.[7] Six days later, he became the club's youngest starter in any competition when he lined up against Santa Clara in the Taça da Liga group stage, beating a record held by Serafim Pereira since 1960.[8]

On 19 October, Silva scored his first goal to conclude a 5–0 win at neighbouring Coimbrões in the third round of the Taça de Portugal; with this goal he surpassed Neves as the youngest goalscorer in the club's history, by a month.[9] Eight days later, he beat the same player's record as Porto's youngest league goalscorer in a 3–0 home win over Famalicão.[10] On 10 November, in a 1–0 win at Boavista in the Derby da Invicta, he became the youngest starter in the club's history, a record held since Serafim's days.[11]

On 9 February 2020, Silva dropped into Porto's reserve team in LigaPro, debuting as a starter in a 1–1 home draw with Farense, as one of three appearances at this level.[12] He made two further appearances for Porto's first team following the resumption of the league after the coronavirus-enforced shutdown as the club won the league title.[13]

Wolverhampton Wanderers[edit]

On 5 September 2020, Silva moved to English Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers in a five-year deal for a club record fee[14] of a reported £35 million.[15] He made his full club debut on 17 September 2020 in an EFL Cup defeat to Stoke City;[16] four days later he made his Premier League debut as a second-half substitute in a 3–1 home loss to Manchester City.[17]

Silva scored his first two goals in a Wolves shirt for the under-21 team in a 2–1 away win over Doncaster Rovers in the EFL Trophy on 10 November 2020.[18] His first league start was in a 1–0 home defeat against Aston Villa on 12 December,[19] and eight days later he scored his first league goal through a penalty in a 2–1 away loss against Burnley.[20] In doing so, not only did Silva become Wolves' youngest ever Premier League goalscorer, but he also became the first player born in 2002 to score in the competition.[21]

On 16 January 2021, Silva scored his first goal from open play and his first goal at Molineux for Wolves against West Bromwich Albion in the first Black Country derby of the 2020–21 season.[22] After scoring his fourth goal of the 2020–21 Premier League season against West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns on 3 May, he became the second-highest scoring Portuguese teenager in Premier League history, with only Cristiano Ronaldo (eight goals) having scored more in the competition before turning 20.[23]

Silva made his first start for Wolves in the 2021–22 Premier League season in a 2–1 away win over Brentford on 22 January 2022, due to Raúl Jiménez missing the game through injury.[24]

Silva scored his first goal for Wolves since 3 May 2021 in a home EFL Cup game against Blackpool on 29 August 2023, a match that Wolves went on to win 5–0.[25]

Loan to Anderlecht[edit]

On 19 July 2022, Silva joined Belgian club Anderlecht on a season-long loan, as well as signing a contract extension with Wolves. On 24 July 2022, Silva scored on his league debut against Oostende after coming off the bench in a 2–0 win.[26]

Loan to PSV Eindhoven[edit]

On 25 January 2023, the agreement with Anderlecht was terminated and Silva was loaned out to Eredivisie side PSV Eindhoven until the end of the season.[27]

Loan to Rangers[edit]

On 1 January 2024, Wolverhampton sent Silva on loan to Scottish Premiership club Rangers until the end of the 2023-24 season.[28] He made his debut against Kilmarnock on 2 January 2024, appearing as a substitute in the second half of the game.[29] Silva scored his first goal for Rangers in a 3–0 home victory over Livingston on 3 February 2024.[30]

International career[edit]

Silva had his first international experience with Portugal's under-15 team in 2017. He was part of the under-17 team that reached the quarter-finals of the 2019 UEFA European Championship in the Republic of Ireland, scoring in a 4–2 group win over Iceland.[31]

On 11 October 2019, Silva scored a hat-trick for the under-19s in a 4–1 friendly win over Italy in Bragança.[32]

Personal life[edit]

Silva's father Jorge was a defensive midfielder who won the league in 2001 for Boavista and was capped twice by Portugal, and his older brother also named Jorge played that position for Lazio.[4]

Career statistics[edit]

As of match played 14 April 2024[33]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Porto 2019–20 Primeira Liga 12 1 3 2 3 0 3[c] 0 21 3
Porto B 2019–20 LigaPro 3 0 — — — 3 0
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2020–21 Premier League 32 4 4 0 1 0 — 37 4
2021–22 Premier League 22 0 2 0 2 0 — 26 0
2023–24 Premier League 8 0 0 0 2 1 — 10 1
Total 62 4 6 0 5 1 — 73 5
Anderlecht (loan) 2022–23 Belgian Pro League 20 7 2 1 — 10[d] 3 32 11
PSV Eindhoven (loan) 2022–23 Eredivisie 14 4 3 0 — 2[c] 1 19 5
Rangers (loan) 2023–24 Scottish Premiership 12 2 3 2 — 2[c] 0 17 4
Career total 123 18 17 5 8 1 17 4 165 28
  1. ^ Includes Taça de Portugal, FA Cup, Belgian Cup, KNVB Cup
  2. ^ Includes Taça da Liga, EFL Cup
  3. ^ a b c Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  4. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

Honours[edit]

Porto Youth

Porto

PSV

References[edit]

  1. ^ "2020/21 Premier League squads confirmed". Premier League. 20 October 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  2. ^ "Fábio Silva". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. Archived from the original on 25 April 2022. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  3. ^ Almeida, Isaura (29 April 2019). "FC Porto é campeão Europeu Sub-19" [FC Porto are Under-19 European champions]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Fábio Silva, o goleador que o FC Porto "resgatou" ao Benfica" [Fábio Silva, the goalscorer who FC Porto "rescued" from Benfica] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 22 February 2019. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
  5. ^ ""Juntei o Fábio Silva ao Marega e ao Zé Luís para tentar marcar a partir de cruzamentos"" [I joined Fábio Silva with Marega and Zé Luís to try to score from crosses]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). 10 August 2019. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
  6. ^ "FC Porto: tanta "prata da casa" só com Mourinho e mais um recorde de Fábio Silva" [Only with Mourinho was there this much "homegrown talent" and another record for Fábio Silva]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). 26 September 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  7. ^ "Fábio Silva torna-se no mais jovem de sempre do FC Porto a jogar na UEFA" [Fábio Silva becomes Porto's youngest player of all time in UEFA competitions] (in Portuguese). SAPO. 20 September 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  8. ^ "Fábio Silva bate mais um recorde: é o titular mais jovem de sempre do FC Porto" [Fábio Silva beats another record: he is the all-time youngest starter for Porto] (in Portuguese). SAPO. 25 September 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  9. ^ "Fábio Silva ultrapassa Rúben Neves como o mais jovem marcador" [Fábio Silva surpasses Rúben Neves as the youngest goalscorer]. A Bola (in Portuguese). 19 October 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  10. ^ "Fábio Silva: mais recordes no FC Porto e uma oferta especial" [Fábio Silva: more records for FC Porto and a special offer]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). 28 October 2019. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  11. ^ "Mais um recorde para Fábio Silva no FC Porto: confira a lista completa" [One more record for Fábio Silva at FC Porto: check out the full list]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). 11 November 2019. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  12. ^ "FC Porto B contou com Fábio Silva e empatou com o Farense" [FC Porto B had Fábio Silva on their side and drew with Farense]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). 9 February 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  13. ^ "Juventus held by Sassuolo in thriller, Porto win Primeira Liga title". The Guardian. 16 July 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  14. ^ "Record-breaking teenage striker Silva joins Wolves". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 5 September 2020.
  15. ^ "Wolves signing teenager Fabio Silva for £35m club record fee". Express & Star. 5 September 2020.
  16. ^ "Wolverhampton Wanderers 0–1 Stoke City". BBC Sport. 17 September 2020.
  17. ^ Stone, Simon (21 September 2020). "Wolverhampton Wanderers 1–3 Manchester City: Pep Guardiola's side start with away win". BBC Sport.
  18. ^ "Papa John's Trophy: Fabio Silva scores first Wolves goals; Southend lose again". BBC Sport. 10 November 2020.
  19. ^ Collins, Ben (12 December 2020). "Wolves 0–1 Aston Villa: Anwar El Ghazi penalty wins West Midlands derby". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  20. ^ Bysouth, Alex (21 December 2020). "Burnley 2-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers: Ashley Barnes and Chris Wood on target". BBC Sport.
  21. ^ "B18y 155d - Fábio Silva is the youngest player to score a Premier League goal for Wolves, while he's the second-youngest player to score a penalty in the competition, after Liverpool's Michael Owen in August 1997 (17y 238d v Wimbledon). Pup". Twitter. 21 December 2020.
  22. ^ Stone, Simon (16 January 2021). "Wolves 2–3 West Brom: Matheus Pereira's double secures Baggies win in Black Country derby". BBC Sport.
  23. ^ Stone, Simon (3 May 2021). "West Bromwich Albion 1–1 Wolverhampton Wanderers: Sam Allardyce says Baggies need miracle". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  24. ^ Howarth, Matthew (22 January 2022). "Brentford 1–2 Wolverhampton Wanderers: Ruben Neves earns win after drone stops play". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  25. ^ "Wolverhampton Wanderers 5–0 Blackpool: Matt Doherty scores twice as hosts progress". BBC Sport. 29 August 2023.
  26. ^ "Silva signs new Wolves contract ahead of loan move". www.wolves.co.uk. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  27. ^ "Transfer | Fábio Silva joins PSV on loan whilst deal with Hoever is terminated". PSV Eindhoven. 25 January 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  28. ^ "Rangers Confirm Loan Signing Of Fabio Silva From Wolves". Rangers F.C. 28 December 2023. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  29. ^ "Why £35m striker Fabio Silva made his Rangers debut after just one training session". Glasgow Times. 3 January 2024. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  30. ^ "Rangers 3-0 Livingston: Fabio Silva, Rabbi Matondo and Todd Cantwell score as Gers cut Celtic's lead at top of Scottish Premiership table". Sky Sports. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  31. ^ "COMENTÁRIO: Portugal supera Islândia e garante quartos de final" [COMMENTARY: Portugal beat Iceland and guarantee quarter-finals]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). 10 May 2019. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  32. ^ "Portugal vence a Itália com hat-trick de Fábio Silva" [Portugal defeat Italy with a hat-trick by Fábio Silva]. Público (in Portuguese). 11 October 2019. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  33. ^ Fábio Silva at Soccerway
  34. ^ Almeida, Isaura (29 April 2019). "FC Porto é campeão Europeu Sub-19" [FC Porto are Under-19 European champions]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  35. ^ "FC Porto é o campeão nacional 2019/2020" [FC Porto is the 2019/2020 national champion] (in Portuguese). Rádio e Televisão de Portugal. 16 July 2020. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  36. ^ "Taça de Portugal: FC Porto conquista "dobradinha"" [Portuguese Cup: FC Porto wins "double"] (in Portuguese). Deutsche Welle. 2 August 2020. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  37. ^ "PSV wint na strafschoppen van Ajax in bekerfinale vol irritaties en opstootjes" [PSV beats Ajax after penalty kicks in cup final full off irritations and fights] (in Dutch). 30 April 2023. Retrieved 10 May 2023.

External links[edit]

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