“They pushed me in the direction of Wolves, I was almost forced, I didn’t have a choice, Maybe the other clubs would have been better for my development”- Fabio Silva reveals he never wanted to join Wolves in 2020 as Portuguese flop now seeks permanent exit from Molineux this summer

Fabio Silva has admitted that he wants to leave Wolves this summer, four years after becoming the club’s record signing.

Under Gary O’Neil, the 21-year-old was limited to just three starts during the first half of last season before being sent on loan to Rangers.

At Ibrox Silva struggled to make an impact, netting just four league goals as Philippe Clement’s side were forced to settle for second after finishing eight points behind rivals Celtic. With the prospect of another season at Molineux ahead of him, Silva admitted he is looking for a new challenge and believes O’Neil feels the same.

‘I’m trying to relax with my family and friends right now, but eventually I want to try and move to another club,’ he told SPORTbible.

‘I don’t know if it’ll be a transfer or another loan but everyone at Wolves knows my thoughts. And the coach [Gary O’Neil] has the same opinion. We’re going to try and do everything to get a move.’

After becoming the youngest player to make a league appearance in Porto’s history aged just 17 years and 22 days Silva quickly earned a reputation as one of Europe’s most exciting young forwards and led to him being compared to his countryman Cristiano Ronaldo.

His prodigious talent led to interest from a host of clubs across the continent but it was ultimately Wolves that won out, signing Silva for a club-record £35m fee in September 2020.

However, nearly four years on, Silva has admitted that he never actually wanted to make the move to the West Midlands club.

‘I trained with Porto in the morning, went to dinner with my family and my agent called me,’ Silva continued. ‘He said, “Tomorrow we’re going to travel to England.”

‘They pushed me in the direction of Wolves. I was almost forced, I didn’t have a choice. Maybe the other clubs would have been better for my development – a league that would allow more time and patience.’

‘I was told if I said no to Wolves, then I wouldn’t play for the first team at Porto. I was only 18 when a team decided to offer £35 million. At the time, Porto weren’t in a great position financially but I still didn’t have a say in the matter.

‘They called me saying, “You have a flight tomorrow.” And that was it. The club knew the love I had for them. They said, “You have a chance to give your club £35 million. You can help out financially.” I couldn’t say no.’

The Portuguese forward insisted he would have been better at a club that allowed him time to develop. Despite his feelings around joining Wolves, Silva insisted joining a Premier League club has ultimately been beneficial to his development.

‘I had to learn quickly,’ he added. ‘Which was good because I got to play against some of the best centre-backs in the world.

‘When I went out on loan to PSV and Anderlecht, I think I was more prepared for the challenge and that’s down to the Premier League. Every team is so good. You can play against the bottom clubs and lose.’