Exclusive interview part one: Fabio Silva opens up on turbulent summer and love for Wolves fans
Fabio Silva has been the subject of intense speculation and interest from other clubs all summer, with his Wolves future hanging in the balance.
Interviews take place in the footballing world daily, but it is not often a footballer seeks out a journalist to tell his story – and Silva was intent on telling his.
The Express & Star exclusively revealed in June that Turkish giants Galatasaray had joined the race to sign the striker, while Ajax, Sevilla, Roma and AC Milan all showed concrete interest in Silva.
The player himself took part in a pre-season interview where he was cryptic about his future, but for the first time Silva has now spoken about a turbulent summer that ultimately saw him remain at Wolves, in an exclusive sit-down interview with the Express & Star.
“Of course, it was difficult (this summer),” he said. “Not so difficult because I had the Euros with Portugal, so my head wasn’t thinking about transfers. If I didn’t have the Euros, maybe it would have been more confusing.
“After the Euros there was a lot of noise about whether I would stay or go, but I had some good points here at Wolves to stay.”
It is clear, as Silva sits relaxed in the club’s auditorium at Compton, that the player is pleased with his surroundings.
But that does not deter him from being incredibly honest about his situation and desire to leave Wolves just months earlier, as he was asked how close he truly was to departing.
“Really close,” Silva added. “At PSV some news came that my idea was not to continue here and of course people read that, but I had to come for pre-season because I’m a Wolves player.
“I came to training but my idea was to wait for something to go, I’m not going to lie. I was training in pre-season in the Algarve with (Julen) Lopetegui, who is an amazing coach, and he spoke with me to give me some good points to stay.
“When I said to my agent I wanted to stay, Lopetegui was one of the keys to staying, but after he goes.
“Matt Hobbs was a key part of the project to stay. I think Wolves have a very good person behind the club. I like the way he spoke with me and took care of me.
“Of course, my president Jeff Shi is amazing. He always takes care of me and speaks with me like a son. I feel the love from him, amazing.
“But I was really close to leaving, of course. My agent tried to see the best solution outside of Wolves because last season was amazing for me outside the club and I wanted to continue this development.
“I wanted to continue to play, to feel happy and contribute to the team. But after these three people (spoke to me), and Gary (O’Neil) too, who is very good and gave me confidence to start, I wanted to stay.
