It didn’t take long for Fabio Silva to cut the chord with Rangers.
The Portuguese striker, 21, arrived at Ibrox the same way he has every other place he’s played.
One of the most hyped players of his generation, Wolves paid Porto £35m to sign Fabio Silva as a teenager in 2020 and since then the pressure on the forward has been immense.
But just as Silva arrived at Ibrox with the hype that has defined his career to date, the ex-Benfica youth leaves Rangers in much the same way he has everywhere else too.
It’s not been a fruitful enough six month spell at Rangers for Silva whose shot-shy wastefulness in front of goal has been interspersed with rare moments of quality.
As well as diving montages, dodgy celebrations, and criticism for his social media usage.
Booed almost universally everywhere he played north of the border, Fabio Silva has now appeared to confirm his unceremonious exit from Scottish football via Instagram.
Silva drops Rangers exit hint on Instagram
In the social media age, subtle changes to the accounts of footballers make big waves and it’s no different with Fabio Silva.
Barely out of the Rangers Training Centre a minute, the Wolves loanee has changed his profile picture and his biography to remove any mention of Rangers as he mulls over what’s going to be a crucial summer.
Whilst pictures from his time at Rangers remain on his wall, you really got the feeling that this was an uncomfortable environment for Fabio Silva as he struggles to find a home in football.
Having earlier in his loan stint claimed he wanted to remain at Rangers, the costs involved and the player’s performances soon ruled a permanent move out.
Don’t get us wrong. There is a talented and workmanlike forward there but for £35m you’ve got have more than some industry and creating the occasional chance.
Fabio Silva might have the talent to blow defences away but Rangers fans never seen it and, when you compare Celtic loanee Adam Idah scoring crucial goals in the run-in, the loan move goes down as yet another failed January signing.
It’s hard to say whether that’s a black mark on Philippe Clement & Nils Koppen on recruitment or on Fabio Silva, who leaves a club once again feeling like it’s an opportunity missed.
At the time, we were told Silva was to fill the role of the striker we craved.
Technically Fabio Silva was signed before Koppen’s feet were under the desk at Ibrox.
But given the forward played at PSV Eindhoven in the second half of last season, it’s safe to assume the club’s new director of recruitment was involved.
Romano said the Belgian was ‘crucial’ to getting the deal done.
Two Rangers transfers out of three ain’t bad’
The good news is that Rangers appear to have gotten two of the three January additions correct.
Mohamed Diomande – who will complete a £4.3m move to Ibrox from FC Nordsjælland this summer – looks a genuinely quality addition.
There are elements to the young Ivorian’s game that need to go to the next level, but the 23-year-old has shown enough quality, and tenacity, to have fans excited about his contribution.
Oscar Cortes, the 20-year-old Colombian who has season cruelly cut short by injury, also looked a smart acquisition.
In contrast to the Fabio Silva’s Instagram update, the RC Lens loanee has been clipped at the Rangers Training Centre being put through his paces alongside Brazilian striker Danilo.
Whilst Cortes is expected to remain at Rangers next season, the same cannot be said for Fabio Silva.
What next for the Portuguese, I hear you ask?
Well, if you believe some of what’s going around online, Italian and Spanish clubs are prepared to pay around £20m for the striker.
