The former Ibrox midfielder has been impressed with the Portuguese forward since his loan arrival from Wolves in January but knows “money talks” and a player who cost £35million to move to Molineux on big wages will probably be out of the Gers’ price range. Silva himself indicated after scoring in the 2-0 Scottish Cup victory at Hibs that if it were up to him alone he would be open to staying at Ibrox [BBC Sport, 11 March]. Ferguson isn’t surprised to hear that as he expects the 21-year-old will feel at home, but accepts it is unlikely to be possible to make it happen, which he called a “real, real shame”. “Money talks. The player himself will feel the love from the Rangers fans, that’s for sure,” he exclusively told Ibrox News. They appreciate everything he’s doing. He’s playing out of position at the moment and doing ever so well. “But the money, honestly, I don’t think Rangers are going to be able to afford him, which is a real, real shame. “He’s maybe had his eyes opened in terms of how big Rangers are. That Benfica game [away], I don’t know whether it was because it was against Benfica, he showed a different [side], more tenacity about his game. Join the Ibrox News WhatsApp channel to get all our exclusives and the breaking transfer news FIRST. “We know the qualities he’s got, he’s a quality player. If you’re a £35million player that tells you one thing, that the boy can play. “Would we want him at Rangers? Absolutely. Can we afford him? I don’t think so.”
The young forward has proven to be a smart addition during the winter window and has helped masked the lack of recognised fit strikers in Philippe Clement’s squad, impressing with his performances and four goals so far. Since he has admitted he is open to staying then the possibility of a second loan is perhaps not off the table and should be discussed in the summer. But if there is a debate over whether Rangers will have the money to make a run at Lawrence Shankland at the end of the season they surely won’t have it to do a permanent deal for Silva. In other Rangers news, Michael Stewart says the Gers have an expensive job on their hands to fill a “vital” hole in their side if current talks aren’t successful.
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