Portuguese forward Fabio Silva has completed a permanent move to Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund today, bringing his five year spell at Molineux to an end. Brandon Rogers summarises Silva’s time at Wolves.
Fabio Silva joined Wolverhampton Wanderers from FC Porto for £34.66 million in 2020, a club-record fee at the time. Aged only 18, he was signed to be the eventual successor to prolific goal scorer Raul Jimenez. However, when Jimenez suffered a shocking head injury just two months after Fabio’s arrival, the young striker was thrown straight into the action. He started 11 matches and came off the bench 21 times, contributing four goals and three assists for the men in gold. One of those goals came at the Hawthorns in what would be the last Premier League Black Country derby to date.
Since that debut season, Silva has become quite the journeyman. He has spent time at Anderlecht in Belgium, PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands, Rangers in Scotland, and, most recently, Las Palmas in Spain. Playing as a backup No. 9 for most of these clubs, his recent breakout at Las Palmas—where he scored 10 goals and provided 3 assists in 22 starts, including goals against Real Madrid, Barcelona and a match-winning brace against Getafe—put him back on the map.
That resurgence reignited interest in the forward, ultimately resulting in a permanent transfer to Borussia Dortmund. The move marks Silva’s seventh different country in as many years. Wolves agreed to a fee of £19.5 million plus £3.5 million in potential add-ons. In addition to the transfer fee, Wolves also clear £80,000 per week in wages (via Capology), potentially opening up space for additional signings with just three days remaining in the transfer window.
It was a deal that needed to be done, and Wolves did well to secure a solid fee for the player. While fans can agree that his time at Molineux never fully lived up to expectations, many still believe Silva has untapped potential—after all, he only recently turned 23. Sometimes, things simply don’t work out, but few Wolves supporters won’t be cheering him on at Dortmund. I believe he has what it takes to succeed there, and I’ll be delighted when he does.
