In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Steve Bull, who made 13 appearances for England, believes Fabio Silva’s misfortunes in front of goal are down to his long hair after he missed late headers against both Newcastle United and Liverpool in recent weeks.
Wolves bought Silva from FC Porto for £36 million and in 27 appearances he has managed just two goals with the 18-year old getting more minutes than he maybe expected due to Raul Jimenez’s extended spell on the sidelines.
Will Silva be a success at Wolves?
Yes, he has huge potential!
No, he’s not that good!
Bull did joke about Silva’s ‘locks’ but admits he believes that is one of the reasons why he struggles with his headers as the ball slides off his long hair and he’s not able to make good contact with the ball.
Speaking on Silva’s struggles in front of goal and if the exposure to a lot of first-team football will be impacting the 18-year old negatively, Bull told FFC exclusively:
“I think the more football and experience he gets, the better it is for him.
“I think if I had him in front of me, the first thing I’d say to him is get your hair cut because when he’s heading the ball it isn’t hitting him directly on his head, it’s hitting him on the side where his hair is and he isn’t getting the power behind it.
“Seriously, that’s not me being funny. Think when you head a ball at full power it’s off your forehead but when it comes to him, it’s gliding off his locks.
“The amount of time he’s getting I think is good the way Nuno is doing it. I just think that you’ve got to introduce players especially with a big price tag into the team gradually.”
Bull is Wolves’ all-time top scorer with 306 goals so, Silva may feel cutting his hair extreme but he could learn a thing or two from the Wolves legend.
Before he signed for Wolves, Silva had played just 21 games for Porto, finding the net three times so, the Midlands club have put a lot of faith in the striker.