The 'furious' side of Fabio Silva Rangers are yet to see as former mentor lifts bonnet on what really makes him tick
Silva can bring the fire and the brimstone and Philippe Clement is yet to see those aspects of his personality.
Fabio Silva has an angry side Philippe Clement is yet to see - but the unsavoury parts of his personality are part of why he's set for a massive career.
That's the view of his former mentor Robin Veldman who is delighted to see him thrive in a new role at Rangers. Veldman, best known in Scotland for his short-lived stint at Queen's Park, was interim manager at Anderlecht when they had Silva on loan from Wolves and was left gutted when he was recalled only to send him to PSV for the second half of last season.
Silva spent the first half of this campaign back at his parent club but was sent on loan to Ibrox, where he has shown promise in a wider position and there is already a clamour among Rangers fans to keep him into next season. Veldman says first impressions of the 21-year-old aren't always positive and saw an angry side of him come to the fore. But he reckons he's a superstar in the making - and that Rangers are yet to see the full extent of what he can offer.
Veldman told the Scottish Sun: “Fabio brings character and energy to a game. Outside of the pitch he can appear arrogant. You can see with his tattoos and how he looks and behaves, there is a cockiness.
“Fabio is confident in what he wants and how he sees things. He can come across as cocky. But it is from a good heart and I like him very much. My first impression of him at Anderlecht was he was a spoilt young kid with too much ambition, too young with too much money.
“Wolves paid massive money and his wages for his age were insane. But he had a clear idea of what he wanted — and the fact Anderlecht weren’t doing well, they were 12th in the league, wasn’t making him happy. Because it was a loan, Fabio felt he had to be playing for a team that was more dominant and far stronger. It is why he eventually made a switch halfway through that season to go to PSV in Holland.
“I stepped in as manager in October of that season and he was an important player for us. I felt I had to get to know him better and we would regularly have one-to-one discussions. As a striker, he was having limited chances to score. So it was for me to find a way for him to be more successful, to be happier.
“We changed in style to make him the main target man. I look at him now at Rangers and he is putting a lot of energy into receiving the ball in midfield and running a lot. But I only needed him in front of the goal."
Revealing an unsavoury incident that Silva bounced back from, Veldman went on: “I had no issues with Fabio. He was a kid trying to find his way as a person and a footballer. There was a moment in a game against Antwerp when I took him off the pitch after 70 minutes — and he was furious.
“Fabio kicked out at a GPS responder, showing no respect to the performance staff members. We had a conversation and I told him he had to show more support and respect. But Fabio accepted it and we were fine.
“I was disappointed to see him leave for PSV, but I also understood his reason. When Fabio moved to Rangers we had some text conversations. I really hope he can be happy with such a big club. I am confident Fabio has a big career ahead of him.”