Wolves break their transfer record to bring in highly-rated 18-year-old in deal worth £35m, eclipsing the £30m spent for Raul Jimenez in 2019
Saturday 5 September 2020 19:26, UK
Wolves have confirmed the signing of Porto forward Fabio Silva for a club-record fee.
The highly-rated 18-year-old, considered one of Portugal's hottest prospects, has signed a five-year deal at Molineux in a £35m deal which eclipses the £30m spent for Raul Jimenez in 2019.
Silva becomes Wolves' first summer signing after boss Nuno Espirito Santo called for club chiefs to increase his squad depth following their Europa League exit at the hands of Sevilla in August.
The Portugal U19 international made one league start for Porto's first team last season and scored one goal in 12 Primeira Liga appearances overall.
"Our recruitment team have been watching Fabio since he played for Portugal under-16s and they feel he has always been the best number nine coming through his age group anywhere in Europe," said Wolves executive chairman Jeff Shi.
"Fabio is a young player who shows not only incredible technical ability, but also his game intelligence for a player of his age is top class.
"Fabio has the potential to be a generational talent and for us to see him develop under Nuno is very exciting. He is the type of player our fans will love."
Silva signed a new deal at the Estadio do Dragao in November last year which included a 125m Euros (£111.4m) release clause.
In 2019, he scored 33 goals in 39 games to lead Porto's U19s to UEFA Youth League glory and Portugal's U19 Championship titles.
He holds the record as Porto's youngest debutant in a league match, youngest starter and youngest scorer.
Silva becomes Wolves' ninth Portuguese player as he will join compatriots Rui Patrício, Rúben Vinagre, Rúben Neves, João Moutinho, Bruno Jordão, Pedro Neto, Diogo Jota and Daniel Podence.
He will be expected to serve as the understudy to Raul Jimenez and provide Nuno with a much-needed central attacking option, after having been heavily reliant on the Mexican throughout last season and following the departure of Patrick Cutrone to Fiorentina in January.
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The summer transfer window will run for 10 weeks from July 27 and close at 11pm on October 5.
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