Ahead of the Fleetwood Town’s historic clash against Leicester City this week, our player to watch is midfielder Adrien Silva.
The Portuguese international could start his first game for the Foxes since his £22m deadline day move from Sporting Lisbon last summer.
Silva’s paperwork was received by FIFA 14 seconds after the deadline and he therefore was unable to register for his new club, despite subsequent appeals to both FIFA and the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The 28-year-old has been forced wait patiently until the window reopened earlier this month and kept in shape by playing a number of behind-closed-doors friendly matches.
He made his Foxes’ debut in Monday’s 3-0 victory over Huddersfield and has selected the number 14 jersey, showing he at least has a sense of humour.
Silva’s skilful dribbling makes him a nightmare for opposition defenders, and he is as accomplished in attacking situations as he is defensively. His greatest strength is perhaps is range of passing which will be bettered by few in the Premier League.
His undoubted talent has seen him earn 20 caps for his national side, and he was a key part of the Portuguese squad who won the 2016 European Championships. Silva played all four knock-out games in the tournament including the final against France.
The midfielder came through the Sporting Lisbon youth system which has produced a number of talented players including Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Figo.
Silva made over 200 appearances for the club and helped them win the Portuguese Cup in 2008 and 2015.
Leicester boss Claude Puel could use Saturday’s game to see how he can adapt to rigours of English football. What a great place to start!