Those close to Fabio Silva have claimed that he turned down Celtic to sign for Rangers and my only reaction is that we can thank our lucky stars he didn’t end up playing in green and white.
His father Jorge told The Daily Record: “At the beginning, Fabio had the opportunity to choose other clubs, even in Scotland. Could he have gone to Celtic? Yes, he could have gone there.
“Many people told him to go there because the way they play is maybe closer to Fabio’s abilities. But he chose Rangers.”
Who knows how to take it? Is it just friendly PR trying to bolster his image with the Ibrox lot or did Celtic really trying to bring him in? You can make up your own mind on that.
Reports over the years have indicated that Celtic have shown interest in the player but that doesn’t equate to a concrete offer. Celtic track a lot of players and have varying degrees of transfer intent.
Celtic foster winners, not amateur dramatics
Silva’s loan spell at Rangers didn’t exactly win him lots of admirers. Simulation, social media antics and inconsistent form hardly paint a picture that Celtic have missed out here.
As far as I can tell, Silva isn’t even popular with Ibrox supporters with his father also going on to express his exasperation at the criticism his son received. One of the most pro-Rangers pundits out there, Kris Boyd, labelled the player as a ‘disgrace’.
The attacker that the Bhoys signed on loan in January – Adam Idah – was a catalyst in helping Celtic find a winning, cutting edge in the Scottish Premiership and Scottish Cup.
He showed grit, determination, physicality and an eye for goal to deliver the impact that Brendan Rodgers was looking for.
Idah looks every bit like a proper Brendan Rodgers signing, fitting the mould of what he values in a forward based on his signing history. Silva doesn’t possess the same attributes.
So forgive me for having a chuckle at this one off the back of our double success. One can only hope that Rangers ‘beat’ Celtic to more signings such as Silva.