Fabio Silva’s nightmare at Molineux could be brought to an end this summer and during his time at Wolves, the club have wasted a staggering sum of money on him.
Wolves were always taking a gamble when forking out £35 million to sign an 18-year-old striker in 2020.
Unfortunately, their decision to spend that money on Porto’s Fabio Silva has ultimately backfired.
Four years on from his arrival in Wolverhampton, and the striker has bagged a measly five goals in 72 appearances, last scoring a Premier League goal in the 2020/21 campaign.
That record is telling of his struggles at Wolves but he’s hardly fared much better in loan spells at Anderlecht, PSV Eindhoven and Rangers.
The most recent of those spells was at Rangers and the 21-year-old didn’t paint himself in a positive light there as he scored just twice in 13 league appearances, with the Portuguese striker blasted for his “non-existent” displays.
To add insult to injury, Silva has recently said that he never wanted to join Wolves in 2020 and Fosun will wish he didn’t given how much money they’ve wasted on him.
The staggering sum of money Wolves have wasted on Fabio Silva
At the age of 18, Wolves signed Silva down to a £80,000 per week contract after shelling out £35 million on the teenager.
That sum of money works out at around £4 million a year, as per Capology, and although he’s had loan spells in between, it makes for arduous viewing when working out how much money he’s rinsed the club for.
In his four years at Molineux, when adding his transfer fee and salary together, the Portuguese flop has cost the Wanderers a whopping £51 million.
Considering he’s found the net just five times, that works out at an incredible £10 million per goal and as far as his appearances go, the club have essentially shelled out £708,000 every time he’s entered the pitch.
Wolves must learn from Fabio Silva mistake
There must have been a method behind the madness at the time but paying £35 million for an unproven teenager was one of the worst pieces of business in the Fosun era.
Wolves have somewhat erased the damage caused by that deal by actively pursuing bargains in the market, recently landing talented Braga winger Rodrigo Gomes for £12.7 million and Manchester City’s Tommy Doyle for £4.3 million.
Of course, there are instances where paying that much money for a teenager is feasible, with Dortmund shelling out £30 million for a 17-year-old Jude Bellingham from Birmingham City in 2020 – and he’s now one of the best players in the world at Real Madrid.
However, given the FFP issues currently hanging over clubs in the Premier League, it’s unlikely Wolves will ever sign a teenager for the sum they paid for Silva, and they’re probably too scarred by that blunder.