Shocker from the SGE: André Silva signs until 2023
Without warning, Eintracht Frankfurt concluded a monster deal to officially sign striker André Silva away from AC Milan on Thursday evening. The Portuguese striker cost the Italian club €30 million three years ago. Could an Ante Rebic deal be next?
Frankfurt Sporting CEO Fredi Bobic confirms that die Adler have concluded negotiations with Italian club AC Milan to exercise the buyout clause for Portuguese striker André Silva. The 24-year-old was initially acquired in a loan-swap of sorts that saw Eintracht send striker Ante Rebic to Milan on a bilateral two-year-loan near the deadline of last autumn’s transfer window.
The Rebic-Silva swap concluded a wild summer of personnel reshuffling for the SGE. Bobic and sporting director Bruno Hübner replaced their entire striking corps, selling and loaning off an attacking trio of Sebastien Haller, Luka Jovic, and Ante Rebic (known colloquially by the local ultras as the “Buffalo Herd”) with André Silva, Gonçalo Paciencia and Bas Dost (whose rapid success quickly earned them the nickname “The Crocodiles”).
Since the move, speculation that either Frankfurt might purchase Silva or Milan might commit to buying Rebic has been rampant. Until now, it appeared as if Rebic would be the first to sign with his loan-club. It appears as if Frankfurt, impressed by Silva’s eight goals in the final nine fixtures of the season, felt compelled to make the first move.
“We’ve seen in recent months the type of performance capabilities André has within him,” Bobic noted in the club’s press release, “It wasn’t for nothing that he was the second best striker in the Bundesliga after the re-start.”
“I shall remain a bearer of the Eagle” Silva told reporters in some of his first German remarks to the press. Silva was Frankfurt’s top goal-scorer in the 2019/20 campaign and his signing constitutes the club’s biggest transfer of the season. Financial terms were not disclosed, but the Portuguese striker did cost Milan over €30 million when the Italian club bought him in 2017.
“We are delighted to have secured a strong striker until the summer of 2023,” Bobic concluded, indicating that the contract will last three years, “We are convinced we can take him to the next level in Frankfurt.”