The Athletic's Tim Spiers has shared some interesting insight in regards to Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Fabio Silva. 

What's the latest Wolves news? 

Following yesterday's loss away at Tottenham Hotspur, former Wolves star Jamie O'Hara moved to criticise the Portuguese, labelling him as 'absolutely shocking'. 

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"Honestly Wolves fans I don't know how they accept Fabio Silva up front, 35 million quid for him and every time I've seen him play he's been absolutely shocking," he wrote on Twitter. 

Indeed, Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville also spoke of Silva's struggles, describing as rarely looking 'happy' during his first season in English football. 

“I just think Fabio Silva, he’s almost… he never really looks happy, he looks like he’s had his toys taken off him all the time,” said Neville on Sky (via HITC).

“No real energy or urgency in his game, everything looks a struggle for him".

Still, writing in his match discussion thread for The Athletic yesterday, Spiers revealed what he'd seen and heard from the £35m man. 

"He throws himself about too much and probably looks unhappy because most of the close ups you get on camera are when he doesn't get a free kick," wrote Spiers. 

"From what I've seen and heard he's got a great attitude and a desire to learn and improve.

"Certainly works hard enough on the pitch."

How many goals has Fabio Silva scored for Wolves? 

Clearly, this has been a difficult campaign for the 18-year-old but it is important to remember that this is a young player having to adapt to a new country during a global pandemic. 

Furthermore, Wolves aren't exactly enjoying a vintage campaign by their own lofty standards either, meaning Silva has been up against it both on and off the pitch when it comes to trying to adapt to this new life. 

So, while 6 goals in 35 games across all competitions is certainly a disappointing tally so far, there are mitigating factors as to why he might have struggled. 

Interestingly, while UnderStat data does suggest Silva is underperforming, he is only behind his xG (expected goals) by -1.85, so it's not as if he's constantly missing the kind of chances one would reasonably expect him to score. 

What has Nuno Espirito Santo said about Silva? 

Speaking to Sky Sports in January, Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo backed his compatriot despite a difficult start to life in England. 

"He is playing and he does a lot of things well," he said.

"But the thing he has to improve is that he has to be more clinical in front of goal because he is a striker.

"Fabio had very little experience and he was coming into a situation where he has joined a new team in a new country.

"These things require patience and time.

"The way that we build our training sessions is different from what he was used to but his progression is going faster now. I believe that he is improving fast."