Wolves sign Porto forward Fabio Silva for club-record fee

Wolves have announced the signing of Portugal youth international striker Fabio Silva from Porto for a club-record fee.

Silva, 18, has put pen to paper on a five-year deal, which Porto said was worth 40million euro (£37m).

The teenager is set to link up with his new team-mates next week ahead of the start of the Premier League campaign against Sheffield United on September 14.

Wolves chairman Jeff Shi is confident the youngster can make an impact for Nuno Espirito Santo’s squad, who are looking to build on last season’s run to the Europa League quarter-finals.

“We’ve been following Fabio’s development for a long time. He’s a player that you only need several minutes to see his natural football talent,” Shi said on the club’s official website.

“In recent years, Fabio has been developing very fast and now has proven himself in Porto’s first team, which is a top squad.

“Our head coach’s requirement for quality is very high, but he thinks Fabio is an important signing who will help the team immediately this season.

“The timing of this deal is similar to the timing of when we bought Ruben Neves; we’ve waited for the right time to get a high-quality player at the right price.”

Shi feels Silva’s approach will be a hit with the Molineux faithful.

“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,” he added.

“He has the ability to drop in to link play and hold the ball up to bring others into play. He always then looks to get in the box and his movement and intelligence in the penalty area is as good as anyones.

“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.”

Wolves are expected to further strengthen the squad for the new campaign, with Barcelona centre back Jean-Clair Todibo another reported target.

Shi said: “Regarding recruitment for the first-team, all of the club’s priorities are about supporting the head coach, and helping Nuno to build the team he wants.

“Every deal the club does; this deal, any following deals, sales of players, are all about supporting Nuno to build the team.

“Like all of our signings, this one is down to a lot of hard work, from a lot of important people, that support Nuno and I to make these things happen and help us to keep things moving.

“Even after an unprecedented pandemic, which has deeply impacted all football clubs in the world, our ambition and determination to improve and evolve the team continually never changes.

“The signing of Fabio demonstrates that we will make considerable investment when we feel it is right for the club.”