Sporting CP president Frederico Varandas has admitted that he would be open to signing Leicester City midfielder Adrien Silva to replace Bruno Fernandes.
With Fernandes leaving to join Manchester United in January, it has been speculated that Silva, who spent 16 years of his career with Sporting, could return as his replacement.
To try and find an answer, Record asked Varandas whether he would actually be interested in signing the 30-year-old, and the president admitted that it was something that the club would think about.
“If there is a need, Sporting will always be open to good opportunities. Always,” Varandas confessed. “He’s a player I know like the back of my hand. But I'm not here to commit myself to anything. It will depend a lot on how the market is. Sporting can’t afford to have three good players in the same position.
"I’m speculating. Maybe [Idrissa] Doumbia receives an offer at the end of the season. We also have [João] Palhinha.”
Silva has endured a challenging few years since leaving Sporting back in 2017. Leicester failed to register him on time during his debut season, meaning he was unable to play until January 2018.
He then managed 21 appearances for the Foxes before being shipped off to Monaco on an 18-month loan in January 2019.
Silva has featured 38 times for the French side, but is yet to score and has managed just two assists in all competitions, so it's hard to see him as a viable replacement for Fernandes, who bagged 15 goals and 14 assists in his last six months with the Portuguese side.
When Silva returns to Leicester, he will have just one year remaining on his current contract, and there seems to be almost no way he will be able to earn a spot in Brendan Rodgers' side, given the likes of Youri Tielemans and James Maddison are ahead of him in the pecking order.
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Source :
90min
