He is said to be the number one transfer target! Is Fabio Silva leaving Borussia Dortmund after just one year?
Fabio Silva's debut season was mixed. It is possible, however, that he has already played his last competitive match for Borussia Dortmund.
According to Bild, citing Seville-based TV channel 101TV, a Real Betis delegation travelled to Dortmund at the start of the week to push through a move for the Portuguese striker.
Club officials around Ramon Alarcon Rubiales and Alvaro Ladron have reportedly identified the 24-year-old as their "number one transfer target". They would prefer a loan deal with an option to buy, which would become an obligation if certain sporting targets are met.
BVB's key decision-makers around sporting director Ole Book and sporting managing director Lars Ricken have very different ideas. If Fabio Silva leaves, it will apparently only be for an offer worth €22.5 million. That would match the fee BVB paid Wolverhampton Wanderers for Silva last summer.
Fabio Silva only convinced at BVB as a substitute and flirted with departure
So far, that sizeable outlay has not paid off. Silva arrived in Dortmund under dubious circumstances and spent weeks on the sidelines after an adductor operation that was apparently only discovered during the medical check.
Only in late September and early October did he make his first brief appearances under coach Niko Kovac, and he is said to have flirted with an early departure from Dortmund as soon as the winter after just one start and because of his substitute role behind Serhou Guirassy.
Dortmund's officials quickly shut that down. At the start of December, Sport Bild even reported a firm message to the Portuguese's advisers that a swift departure was "completely out of the question".
After the turn of the year, Silva's situation improved as Kovac gave him more chances and his fitness increased. Still, Silva convinced exclusively as a substitute and provider, not as a starter and goalscorer capable of posing major competition to Guirassy in the centre-forward position.
By the end of his debut season, Silva had recorded ten goal involvements, three goals and seven assists, with eight of them coming as a substitute. Above all, though, nobody could question his commitment, including the defensive work so important to Kovac.
If Fabio Silva leaves: will BVB also sign Tresoldi?
With prominent attacking reinforcements in Dortmund in the form of Kontantinos Karetsas and Giannis Konstantelias, who will probably be lined up in the half-spaces behind Guirassy, Silva's chances of starting have recently fallen significantly. Alongside Real Betis, Real Sociedad are also said to have taken an interest in the one-cap Portugal international.
Internally, however, Silva is said to have made it clear over the course of pre-season that he wants to face the competition at BVB and establish himself. His contract in Dortmund runs until 2030. If he is ultimately still drawn away despite everything, BVB would have to become active in the transfer market again.
For one thing, with the threefold burden in mind, it would be negligent to have only one nominal centre-forward in the squad in Guirassy. For another, the Guinean top striker's stay is also far from absolutely set in stone should a lucrative offer from Saudi Arabia actually arrive.
Over recent weeks and months, BVB have been linked with a move for Nicolo Tresoldi. After his move to Club Brugge, the Germany Under-21 international enjoyed the best season of his career, scoring 23 goals in 58 matches and adding nine assists. He has already shown his eye for goal in the new season, which has already started in Belgium. In three competitive matches so far, the 21-year-old has scored three times.
