#3 At one stage it seemed he may not make it at Porto
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Silva’s remarkable explosion during the 2016-17 season saw him score 16 goals in 32 outings in the league, not to mention five in 10 in Europe, yet the road to being a first-team regular was far from straightforward for the young striker.
Indeed, in January 2016, it seemed that his time at the club he had played for since a 13-year-old was about to end. Head coach Julen Lopetgui, who is now in charge of Spain, was sacked as Jose Peseiro took over. Having been relegated as low as a fifth-choice striker in Porto’s ranks, he was suddenly afforded opportunities to impress and scored his first league goal against Boavista in an early kickoff.
“I have to start playing in the morning,” he joked afterwards.
It was, however, in the Taca de Portugal that he made his big impression. Although Porto lost 4-2 on penalties, he scored twice to help his side recover from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 in normal time. A last-minute bicycle kick to tie the score in that clash was particularly memorable.
From there, the rest is history.
