Wolves now plot bid for “exceptional” 96-goal machine, he’s far better than Trincao - opinion

Wolverhampton Wanderers are said to be eyeing a move for Benfica winger Rafa Silva this summer.

That is according to A Bola (via Sport Witness), who believe Wolves are the “most concrete” club in pursuit of the 28-year-old.

The 25-cap Portugal winger’s contract expires in 2024, though a figure of €50 million (£42m) quoted by Jeunesfooteux could be enough to convince the Lisbon-based side to cut ties with Silva.

Silva is a versatile forward and has proven himself as a goalscorer throughout his six-year stint at Benfica, with 94 strikes in total throughout his professional club career.

He is the antithesis of Barcelona loanee Francisco Trincao, who has failed to set the world alight at Molineux.

In fact, their stats this season are almost incomparable, with Silva enjoying a much more fruitful spell in the opponent’s final third, on a much more consistent basis.

28-year-old Silva, who has been described as “exceptional” by host Jack Collins via Twitter, has 24 goal contributions in 28 games in Liga Portugal this season, with eight goals and 16 assists.

In contrast, Trincao has just two attacking returns from 25 games with one goal and one assist for the Old Gold in what has been a poor season by his standards. It’s easy to forget that the now 22-year-old scored eight times and assisted eight during his final season at Braga in the 2019/20 campaign.

Silva’s calibre as a forward offers Wolves an option to completely level up their attack and serves as a more direct variant, operating in a similar fashion to a striker.

His passing stats paint a picture of his straight to the point style, as he tends to progress the ball through dribbling, rather than passing, with his average of 19 passes completed per 90 on the lower end of