Wolverhampton Wanderers have had a difficult summer to put it lightly, with the club unable to spend and bidding farewell to former manager Julen Lopetegui just five days before the start of the 2023/24 campaign.
An opening day trip to Old Trafford in the Premier League looked to be a disaster in the making for the Old Gold, however, with newly appointed boss Gary O’Neil at the helm, there was an element of surprise at the calibre of Wolves’ performance.
Losing by extremely fine margins and dominating in the final third, there were plenty of encouraging signs to take from the fixture, but the issue remains that the side struggle to score and are short on numbers.
Will Wolves sign anyone this summer?
Adhering to Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules has consumed the Midlands side during the transfer window, with a host of sales made and no room to manoeuvre replacements for those departed.
The club have been linked to a host of talent, with all rumours ending far from a player landing at Molineux, with the closest chase being that of Alex Scott, who recently signed for Bournemouth as Wolves failed to accumulate the £25m asking price.
Despite such disappointment, O’Neil must make the best out of an unfortunate, but unchangeable financial situation, with plenty of exciting players and prospects already on the books to work with.
One name that could be like a new signing for the former Cherries manager is Fabio Silva, who is now not expected to leave the club this summer despite earlier speculation.
How good is Fabio Silva?
Signed by Wolves in 2020 from Porto, the young talent made his first appearance for the Old Gold on Monday night since May 2022, coming on as a substitute against Manchester United.
The forward has endeavoured on two loan spells since beginning his association with the Midlands club, representing both Anderlecht and most recently PSV to gain valuable experience.
At 21, now could be the time for the youngster to break through in England, with Express and Star journalist Liam Keen relaying that the Old Gold are “not interested in selling or loaning” the centre-forward.
Considering the task in hand for O’Neil to encourage his new squad to put the ball in the net, the emergence of Silva could come at the perfect time with the player hungry to prove himself at his parent club.
A cameo at Old Trafford could be the start of an exciting period for the youngster at Molineux, who has had the time away to mature and understand his own game on a better level, ready to compete in the Premier league.
The Portugal U21 international spent half of last season in Belgium at Anderlecht, and the other half with PSV in the Eredivisie, scoring a total of 16 goals over the 2022/23 season.
Once hailed as a “genius” by U23 scout Antonio Mango, the dynamic forward showed how prolific he can be when in his stride, scoring four goals in five Eredivisie starts for PSV and seven goals in 16 starts in the Jupiler Pro League.
The 21-year-old’s experience in leading the line during last term’s loan spells was translated in his 13-minute cameo against United, where he earned a 7.20 match rating, registering three shots, with two of which being on target, via Sofascore.
If the £42k-per-week talent can find his stride under O’Neil, his welcoming back to Molineux could have the same effect as a new signing for the club.