Fabio Silva: Rangers sign Wolves forward on loan for remainder of season

Rangers manager Philippe Clement has made Fabio Silva his first signing, with the Wolves forward joining on loan for the rest of the season.

But he has failed to make a significant impact and will move to Ibrox on 1 January when the window opens.

Clement said he was thrilled to add the “highly rated striker”, who has “great experience in both England and Europe”.

And Silva, 21, said: “I am very happy, when I spoke to people about Glasgow and about Rangers, everyone told me good things about the club and the history.

“I played here once with Porto in the Europa League, so I already know the warm club, the environment and the stadium, so everything is perfect.”

Clement, who replaced the sacked Michael Beale as manager in October, has lost Danilo to long-term injury, and fellow striker Kemar Roofe is also beset by fitness troubles.

Silva will bolster Clement’s attacking options as Rangers – currently five points behind Celtic with two games in hand – look to rein in the Scottish Premiership leaders and progress beyond the Europa League last 16.

The forward had spells on loan in Belgium and the Netherlands with Anderlecht and PSV Eindhoven respectively last season, scoring 15 times in 46 games.

Silva is under contract at Molineux until 2026, with the club holding the option of another year.

He has made 10 appearances for Wolves this term but his only goal came in the Carabao Cup against Blackpool in August, and he has not started a league game since 3 September.

Wolves sporting director director Matt Hobbs said the player had opted for Rangers amid “lots of interest” from other clubs.

“This is a simple one – Fabio needs to play,” added Hobbs, who confirmed Rangers do not have an option to buy.

“He’s not getting enough opportunities here, so it’s a chance to go out and score goals and we’ll look at the future in the summer.

“It’s a big club playing in Europe, in a competition they had a good run in recently. Credit to Fabio, it’s a brave move because there was lots of interest and he could have stayed in his comfort zone, maybe with better weather than Scotland, or less competitive football, but he wanted to test himself.”