Portugal’s forgotten man André Silva leading the way with goals across Europe’s major leagues | OneFootball

Silva scored his 10th La Liga goal at the weekend [Getty Images]

It is almost a guarantee with every season that Portuguese footballers and managers abroad excel at some of the world’s biggest clubs, but it is difficult to avoid the reality that scoring goals is a habit which has declined for the country’s foreign-based stars in recent years.

In fact, as the clock ticks towards closing time on the 2005-26 season in Europe, just one Luso representative has reached double figures in a major European league: André Silva of Elche in Spain, who scored his 10th La Liga goal this past weekend.

Several years ago, the notion of Silva scoring regularly at the highest level felt almost inevitable, but the 30-year-old is enjoying a renaissance after three previous seasons blighted by problems which slowed a highly competent career. Once seen as a natural goalscorer of increasing reliability, the current campaign has seen Silva notch more league goals than the previous three combined.

Silva’s penalty in Elche’s 3-1 defeat at Celta Vigo not only reached the landmark in a wider context – it put Silva among some exclusive company in the club’s record books. He became only the 11th player in the Valencian outfit’s history to reach double figures in the Spanish top flight. For a club founded in in 1923, the feat is a nice touch for a player who has been due some good fortune.

Having left Porto for Italian giants AC Milan at the age of 21 with a reputation as a promising goal-getter, Silva also spent time with Sevilla in Spain before truly finding his feet in Germany with Eintracht Frankfurt. His place in the Bundesliga side’s record books is even more special: Silva’s 28 goals in the 2020-21 campaign bettered the all-time club highest tally set by Frankfurt legend Bernd Hölzenbein.

A move to RB Leipzig followed, but Silva struggled in new surroundings and his return of 11 Bundesliga goals in his debut term was seen as a disappointment. Since then, injuries, loss of form and quiet loan spells at Real Sociedad and Werder Bremen left Silva a somewhat forgotten figure by the time he joined Elche on a free transfer last summer.

Porto hope?

Without a cap for his country since 2022, Silva has barely featured in the thinking of many Seleção  fans during the Roberto Martínez era. Yet he looks set to end the season as the highest-scoring Portuguese abroad across Europe’s major leagues, albeit Rafael Leão (9 goals) could yet threaten that status.

Intriguingly, Silva only signed a one-year deal with Elche, which reportedly included both an option for the club to extend based on conditions being met, as well as a rumoured release clause to join boyhood club FC Porto should they stump up a €4m fee.

According to latest reports in Spain, the option to trigger an extension to Silva’s contract is no longer applicable, meaning he is free to decide his own fate in the summer.

With 19 goals for his country, Silva has perhaps not entirely given up on receiving a call from his country one day. In the meantime, he may well be hoping to receive one from André Villas-Boas...