Bournemouth strengthened their defensive options earlier this month by signing Antonio Silva (£5.0m) from Benfica.
It’s a deal worth up to £25.7m.
BRIEF HISTORY
The 22-year-old has been a regular for Benfica since breaking into the first team in 2022 and has played in the Champions League, Europa League and Club World Cup.
He has made 208 appearances in all competitions at centre-back, scoring 10 goals and supplying four assists, and has been capped 20 times by Portugal, although he missed out on Roberto Martinez’s last World Cup squad.
WHERE DOES HE FIT IN AT BOURNEMOUTH?
The arrival of Silva will help fill the void left by Marcos Senesi (£6.0m), who left for Tottenham Hotspur on a free transfer this summer. Senesi brilliant campaign in which he finished as the joint-third highest-scoring defender in Fantasy with 175 points.
Silva has been highly rated from a young age and Bournemouth have an excellent track record with recent defensive recruits.
Illia Zabarnyi and Dean Huijsen left for Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid, respectively, and Silva is the right age to follow a similar path, should he fulfil his potential.
He will be competing with Bafodé Diakité (£5.0m) and Veljko Milosavljević (£5.0m) for a place alongside James Hill (£5.5m), but is expected to slot straight in.
DEFCON POTENTIAL
Silva is known to be an excellent tackler, who is quick, strong in the duel (60% success rate last season, according to FotMob) and good at interceptions.
However, overall, DefCon potential looks limited:
| Season | DefCons per 90 mins |
|---|---|
| 2025/26 | 7.51 |
| 2024/25 | 7.51 |
| 2023/24 | 6.88 |
| 2022/23 | 6.51 |
Even in the Champions League, against elite opposition, that DefCon rate only rose to 8.55 in 2025/26.
Silva seems to be more of the modern-day, ball-playing variety of centre-back, rather than the all-clearing, all-blocking clogger we FPL managers prefer.
“He is a modern ball-playing centre-back, very comfortable receiving the ball on either foot. One of the best things he has is the diagonal switches that he can do without looking, He is very, very talented at that. The key aspect of his game is his anticipation. Antonio reads the game really well. He is an anticipation-based defender rather than a reactive one. You see a lot of reactive centre-backs. He is not one of those. Antonio understands what will happen next.” – Joao Nuño Fonseca, Benfica youth coach, via Sky Sports
ANY FPL POTENTIAL?
Limited DefCon potential – expect interceptions rather than blocks and clearances – suggests he’s one to avoid for the time being.
Not only that, but the Cherries’ schedule is arguably the worst in the league over the first 10 Gameweeks, so we can shelve interest for now.
