Antonio Silva: Bournemouth clinch signing of Portugal international defender from Benfica
Antonio Silva joins Bournemouth in a deal worth up to £25.7m from Benfica; the central defender is viewed as a replacement for Marcos Senesi who left over the summer; Silva played more than 200 games for Benfica and won the UEFA Nations League with Portugal last year
Saturday 1 August 2026 16:40, UK
Bournemouth have completed the signing of Portugal international defender Antonio Silva from Benfica.
The transfer is worth £21.4m plus a potential £4.3m in add-ons.
"I am very happy to be here," Silva said.
"It's a pleasure to play for Bournemouth and in the Premier League. I can't wait to start the season with my team-mates and I'm excited to be here.
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"The mentality is always to win. I will try my best, and I will play for the fans.
"We have everything here that helps us perform on the pitch, and I can't wait to get started."
Bournemouth were in the market for a centre-back following the summer departure of Marcos Senesi, with Silva fitting the profile of the kind of player the club were targeting.
Silva has played 237 games for Benfica, despite being only 22-years-old.
He has made 20 international appearances for Portugal, featuring in the 2022 Qatar World Cup at the age of 19.
Silva also represented his country at the 2024 Euros, as well as in the 2025 UEFA Nations League, which Portugal won.
Despite his youth, the defender has won a total of six titles with Benfica and the national team, and was named as the best defender in the 2022/23 Portuguese league season.
Bournemouth were after a good ball-playing centre-back, someone tall and strong defensively. Antonio prefers to play on the left side of the defence, which is the position vacated by Senesi.
The Cherries see Silva as a player with a proven winning mentality as well as European experience.
Have Bournemouth struck gold again with Silva?
Sky Sports' Adam Bate:
There was a time when Antonio Silva's rise to the top appeared an inevitability. He was only 18 years old when he scored his first Champions League goal for Benfica in a 4-3 win over Juventus. He played at the 2022 World Cup for Portugal soon after that.
Since then, Silva has been linked with Europe's biggest clubs but it is Bournemouth who have signed him from Benfica. In truth, excluded from Portugal's squad this summer, his momentum has stalled. However, aged 22, there is time for this move to ignite his career.
Sure, there are grander destinations. But Bournemouth have emerged as one of the best recruiters of talent - proving themselves particularly adept at developing defenders. Silva is entitled to believe he can be the next to flourish for the Cherries.
Illia Zabarnyi and Dean Huijsen left for Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid, respectively, just one year ago. Marcos Senesi has since moved to Tottenham. Silva is special enough to impress every bit as much as his predecessors on the south coast.
Speaking to Joao Nuno Fonseca, Silva's coach during his days with Benfica's development team, there is confidence that Bournemouth boss Marco Rose has a gem in his hands. "Marco will not have any problems with him," Fonseca tells Sky Sports.
"Antonio is a very good person and the type of player that is easy to coach. He is very attentive. At Benfica, he listened to every detail that we gave him. He was very mature and that had a huge impact because it is difficult to reach the first team at Benfica."
Read more HERE.
