If Philippe Clement was looking for the perfect number nine for Rangers, someone like Alexander Isak probably wouldn’t be far away, in Fabio Silva, he could have the next best thing.
The Gers boss has been linked with a move to upgrade his squad by bringing the Wolves striker to Ibrox and his last season on loan at PSV Eindhoven gives an idea as to what his style of play is.
Rangers can’t afford the likes of Alexander Isak but, if someone similar, like Fabio Silva is available then it would be a good place to start.
What would Fabio Silva bring to Rangers?
Silva spent the first half of last season at Anderlecht on his way to scoring 16 goals and creating six assists for teammates.
The 21-year old has yet to live up to his reported £35m price tag which hasn’t stopped Rangers being placed at the front of the queue but, Fabio Silva could well be the striker that we are looking for with Danilo injured and Kemar Roofe also looking like he is going to be absent again.
Using DataMB’s comparison model, Silva is almost identical to Newcastle United’s star man Isak.
What this means is that, whoever gets Silva, is acquiring a striker who is well rounded.
Tall, athletic and capable of scoring goals or creating them for others, this is exactly the type of forward that Rangers need.
In fairness to Cyriel Dessers, his recent form in front of goal and in linking play with teammates suggests that he could yet fill the boots of Alfredo Morelos.
Silva isn’t quite as tall as Isak but he is still around the 6ft mark, he also isn’t quite as good a dribbler as Isak but boasts better expected assist numbers and passes into the box compared to the Sweden international last season.
If Wolves decide to let Fabio Silva go, it will most likely be on loan given the length of his contract at Molineux, but Rangers could offer the regular football and competition in Europe that he is currently missing.
Loan signings should never make up key positions in the squad, however, if players of this potential become available to us, we would be daft not to consider it.
