SILVA READY TO STAR FOR OLD GOLD
Kid Fabio can’t wait to give it Lage
FABIO SILVA beat Covid and Manchester United – now he has been told to beat a path into Bruno Lage’s team.
The 19-year-old striker cost Wolves £35million when he joined from Porto last season but has found life difficult since arriving in the Black Country.
He managed four goals during his debut campaign in the Premier League but is yet to hit the net this time out – although he has mostly been used from the substitutes’ bench.
Chance
A nasty bout of Covid has not helped, but he was thrown into battle at Old Trafford as Wolves ended a 41-year wait for victory at the Theatre of Dreams.
And Lage said that as long as he carries on working hard, his chance will come.
Wolves’ boss said: “I’m very happy with Fabio.
“When the team warmed-up at Old Trafford, I sat next to him and said: ‘You understand everything about how we work.
“‘You know how to press… you know everything.
“He stayed at home for 15 days with Covid, so I asked him how long he thought he could play for.
“He told me 20 to 25 minutes – in the end, I think he had 10 or 12, and he did well.
“Every moment on the pitch is a chance for him to show me things. Not just in games but also in training – and he’s doing that.
“That’s all you can ask.”
Wolves should be heartened by Leicester’s successful FA Cup triumph last term. As four-time winners and runners-up, the club have an illustrious history in the competition.
But it is 62 years since the pot was last lifted by a Wolves captain.
Lage maintains the Blades are a potential banana skin and says that if the Premier League side is not working at full capacity that a long and difficult afternoon awaits.
He added: “I will put out the best team I can. We’re going with a strong ambition to win because Sheffield United are a strong opponent.
“I worked in the Championship for almost three years with Sheffield Wednesday and Swansea and sometimes you cannot see the difference between the leagues.
Ambition
“I have good memories of working with Carlos Carvalhal at Sheffield Wednesday.
“We beat Arsenal in the League Cup and when it’s one game over 90 minutes and teams hit you with everything, you don’t know what’s going to happen.
“They will come with a big ambition, too. We will need a strong mentality at home and with the help of our fans we can continue in the competition.”