Tottenham make fresh £26 million bid for Adrien Silva
By Gary Pearson
Abola Sporting are reporting that Spurs have made a fresh bid for Sporting captain Adrien Silva, this time offering the Portuguese club £26 million.
Apparently Sporting rejected the original £17 million Spurs’ bid, refusing to part ways with their club captain unless the requested rate was offered.
The new purported deal is worth £26 million, of which about £22 million would be paid up front with an additional £4 million in subsequent bonuses.
It looks like my original assertion, that the prospective Silva transfer didn’t merit any serious consideration, was, in fact, incorrect. The transfer is almost assuredly in the works, and now that Spurs have met Sporting’s financial demands, it shouldn’t be too long before the 28-year-old midfielder joins the north London outfit.
Is Silva Spurs worthy?
The probable, if not imminent, deal raises a lot of questions. Is Silva the type of player to help Tottenham to Premier League glory? Having won a European Championship with Portugal while also Champions League-versed, nobody can question Silva’s wealth of top-level experience.
He’s still in his prime, albeit just, and is as comfortable on the ball as Harry Kane is at bagging goals.
On the downside, as stated in a previous piece, Silva has never plied his trade in an élite domestic league. Sure, he has played in the Champions League and has a wealth of international experience, but is that enough to quickly adapt to the Premier League?
Silva is as loyal as they come, the Sporting stalwart playing his entire career – including all of his teenage developmental years – with the Portuguese giants. Is he, though, the midfield answer for Tottenham, who already have Eric Dier and Victor Wanyama protecting the back four?
He could definitely help lead by example and adds depth to a roster in desperate need of multiple layers, particularly for a frantically busy upcoming season.
Silva worked intimately with Dier while the Englishman developed with Sporting, so that connection could prove invaluable for Spurs, if not on than most certainly off the pitch.
Like Dier and Wanyama – and most defensive midfielders for that matter – he doesn’t score a lot of goals but loves a hearty challenge and distributes the ball unerringly, almost never conceding possession.
So, is he too similar to our other defensive midfielders, or does Silva offer a little more pedigree and experience, two indispensable intangibles in building a championship-winning team?
I can see why Mauricio Pochettino wants him and trust the gaffer understands precisely how this no-nonsense, stoic, battle-hardened leader will bolster and augment his team’s title aspirations.