Credit: Getty Images

James Barker

Tue 28 April 2026 9:10, UK

Fabio Silva is having an impressive debut season as a Borussia Dortmund player, with the former Rangers loanee kicking on since leaving Ibrox.

Signed in the 2024 January transfer window, Silva joined Rangers on a short-term loan deal from English Premier League outfit Wolves until the end of the 2023-24 season.

There was no option for Gers to turn his loan move permanent, meaning he was brought in with the hope he’d make a short-term impact in that year’s Scottish Premiership title race, which Celtic ended up winning by eight points.

Only 21 at the time, the Portuguese forward had been signed by Wolves in 2020 for a whopping £35million, and as such, his signing brought with it big excitement and expectation to Glasgow.

However, his Rangers loan transfer didn’t really work out as planned, and he left having scored six times in 25 total appearances.

How is Fabio Silva faring with Borussia Dortmund?

Silva endured significant criticism at Rangers, largely due to a number of his performances seeing him struggle to get involved in the physical element of the game.

That was always to be somewhat expected with the youngster, but it did see him become a bit of a boo boy at Ibrox, leaving Gers fans frustrated at seeing a player who wasn’t overly willing to put his body in harm’s way at times.

However, any Gers fan who watched him in action would concede that he clearly had technical ability, and was a confident player on the ball who could make things happen out of very little.

You don’t get signed to the Premier League as an 18-year-old for £35m playing for Porto if you haven’t got something about you, and Silva certainly did.

After leaving Rangers, Silva spent the 2024-25 season on loan with Spanish La Liga side Las Palmas, where he scored 10 goals and provided three assists from 24 league games.

That helped earn him another big-money move to Borussia Dortmund last summer, and in his debut season playing for one of Germany’s biggest clubs, the Portugal international is really starting to reach his potential.

He’s notched two goals and contributed six assists from 25 Bundesliga appearances in 2025-26, whilst also bagging a goal and an assist in the Champions League too.

As per Sofascore, Silva has created seven big chances in the German top flight this term, whilst also registering a passing accuracy of 73 per cent and playing 0.7 key passes per game.

Silva has also made zero errors leading to opposition shots or goals, and is now showing he can produce at the top level.

Has Silva improved in the physical side of his game at Dortmund?

Bundesliga football is not too dissimilar to what is played on these shores, in that it’s a physical and athletic league that can be tough for players who don’t excel in that department.

Silva found that out with Rangers, but has he taken strides to improve this element of his game in Germany?

Well, as per his Bundesliga numbers via Sofascore this season, the answer to that question would be no.

Indeed, he’s now averaging an even lower 0.3 tackles per game with Dortmund than his 0.7 with Rangers, and has won just 37 per cent of his ground duels and 30 per cent of his aerial duels respectively.

So, it’s clear that Silva’s success is coming via his technical ability, which if his production continues to trend upwards by way of goal contributions, Dortmund probably won’t mind.

Updated 24/7 with expert analysis from the heart of Govan.