15 goals in 28: Who is Andre Silva & why are Arsenal scouting him?

Recently, we covered a piece on how Arsenal are among the club’s reportedly vying for Andre Silva’s signature.

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2. What’s the downside?

With a release clause of €60m inserted into his contract, it’s unlikely that any of Europe’s elite clubs are currently prepared to pay such a high price. Arsenal’s interest however, seems to have triggered a domino effect with many teams reportedly scouting his performances.

In terms of criticism, some have suggested he flatters to deceive and isn’t as convincing from goal-scoring opportunities as you might think. That’s fair enough, given he is only 21 and this is his first full campaign with the Porto senior side.

He’s been able to finish chances in the Champions League this season. Goals against Copenhagen and Leicester (four in total) in the group stages helped set up a last-16 tie with Juventus. Unfortunately, Alex Telles’ dismissal saw him sacrificed after half-an-hour in the home leg and a 2-0 deficit proved too difficult to overturn away from home.

Despite a premature end to Silva’s Champions League campaign, he will have taken plenty of positives from the experience.

Decision-making and composure in the final third, with consistency, are important for Silva to really step-up. The majority of his goals this term have stemmed from his impressive attack positioning and spatial awareness, where he’s able to sense potential chances and evade the attentions of his marker.

A fox-in-the-box, some might say. But his playing style is unorthodox for someone of his stature. Agile and quick, he relishes the challenge when taking defenders on in a one-on-one and given his versatility, it’s not a surprise Arsenal are keeping tabs on him.

After all, he represents the type of player that we could mould into a world-class star given the right coaching and attack-minded guidance.

 


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