Liverpool are always on the lookout for the next big thing and FC Porto’s 18-year-old Fabio Silva seems to have the potential to be just that.
Like any other elite club in Europe, the Reds will know the Starlet.
Indeed, Liverpool and Manchester City reportedly turned down offers for him in 2017 when he returned to Porto after a two-year hiatus from Benfica after being persuaded to move by current Reds manager Vitor Matos.
Silva left Benfica after two seasons and was courted by several top teams. After leaving Porto because he was unhappy, Matos, who had been his U12 coach and stayed in touch with him even after he left, convinced him to return.
Child prodigy Joao Felix, who signed for Atletico Madrid last summer for a fee of around £ 126million, was lost from Porto a few years before this move and ended up at Benfica. They didn’t want to make the same mistake with Silva.
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Matos and Silva are said to be close together, which is underlined by the player’s trust in his mentor to return to the club he had recently left. The 18-year-old Silva is also linked to Real Madrid and Juventus.
Jose Tavares, who has held a senior position in the Porto academy for more than a decade, worked at the Portuguese club with Vitor Matos and Liverpool’s deputy coach Pep Lijnders.
On an exclusive blood red podcast, he stated, “Vitor has lived here for so many years and knows the training method because he was one of the experts we had.
“He’s a great person, a great character and a great guy. His dedication to the players sets him apart from the rest of the coaches.
“The connection he had with some of the players was excellent. When I took over the technical direction of FC Porto, Fabio Silva was one of the players who left our academy.
Listen to the full podcast by Pep Lijnders and Vitor Matos by clicking HERE
“Vitor was Fabio’s head coach when he was 12 and he kept in touch with Fabio. As a friend of Vitor, he said to me, ‘Hey Jose, I think Fabio is a little upset with Benfica and maybe he wants to move . ‘ .
“He was the first person to speak to me that made me think we could save him and bring him back. Why? Because he can build that kind of relationship with the players.
“Vitor has proven himself as a coach who has leadership skills, is very knowledgeable and has a good connection with the players.”
In 2018, when Silva was only 15 years old, it was clear to Sporting Lisbon legend Manuel Fernandes, who was the club’s scouting director at the time, how highly he rated the striker.
“When Cristiano Ronaldo was 17, he played as a center forward for the Sporting youth teams. I saw him do things that a FC Porto boy does now,” he said of Bleacher Report.
That is certainly kudos to the young striker. But Fernandes wasn’t the only person impressed with the teen’s talent. Matos himself knew how good Silva would be, hence his communication with him during his absence and the conviction to return to Porto.
There is currently no indication that Liverpool are preparing an offer for the teenage sensation, but Silva’s progress will be something to watch out for. Of course, that’s exactly what Matos will do anyway.
And if that stance changes, Liverpool could have a significant advantage in the race, even though Silva’s release clause is a whopping € 120million and would have to be negotiated.
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