Wolves loanee Fabio Silva will soon return to Molineux at the conclusion of the 2023/24 calendar, with the forward bowing out of his loan at Rangers on a sour note.
Gary O’Neil will have the significant task of filtering through Wolves’ assets that will soon return from their loan spells, with lots of work to be done to determine the players’ future at the club.
When speaking on the Old Gold’s loan situation, the manager admitted that he’d ‘never been’ at a side that had so many players loaned out, as 15 players are currently developing their game away from Molineux.
One of these is Fabio Silva, who has been on loan at Rangers since January after failing to make an impact enough to secure game time in the first half of the 2023/24 campaign.
There was hope that the 21-year-old would go to Scotland and bolster the areas of his game that are lacking, however, things haven’t gone to plan, a narrative that fits the script of Silva’s time at Wolves.
Fabio Silva surprised Kevin Kyle with Scottish Cup final performance
On Saturday, Celtic claimed the Scottish Cup with a late 1-0 win over Rangers, a fixture that Silva played 74 minutes of.
Speaking in reaction to the game on Open Goal, pundit Kevin Kyle blasted the Portuguese forward’s performance by saying:
“Silva was non-existent on the left wing, I’m surprised he lasted as long as he did.”
Unfortunately, it’s no longer a surprise to hear of criticism fired towards Silva, who has had an eventful time at Rangers, being labelled a ‘disgrace’ for his diving antics, and having his form in front of goal dubbed ‘comical’.
The bigger picture is that it’s a shame for Silva, and particularly for Wolves, that things haven’t worked out for the 21-year-old at Ibrox, with O’Neil now facing a significant challenge this summer to offload him.
Wolves must find a way to offload Fabio Silva this summer
Considering how Silva’s Wolves career has gone, it’s staggering that Nuno Santo opted to break the club’s record transfer fee to acquire him in 2020 from Porto.
Signed at just 18 years old for £35m, the youngster carried the heavy burden of his pricetag throughout his time at Molineux, with the 2023/24 campaign proving that the club must now cut ties with the forward.
Things haven’t worked out for Silva, and with O’Neil at the helm, there doesn’t seem to be a way back in for the loanee, who collects an alarming £80k-a-week when under contract at Wolves.
For the sake of the player and for Wolves’ finances, it’s likely that the forward will depart in the upcoming transfer window, with a fee close to the £35m price tag now an impossible outcome.