However, no serious offer was ever made, and Silva ended up joining Borussia Dortmund from Wolves for €22.5m just before the transfer deadline.

At the time, Silva was still recovering from an injury and was slowly regaining his form.

His coach, Niko Kovac, had only been giving him limited playing time in matches, usually in the final stages.

One of the few exceptions was a game against FC Copenhagen, where Silva was given half an hour to play and responded with a goal.