Liverpool's 'special connection' which could land them 'next Cristiano Ronaldo'

Fabio Silva has been likened to a young Cristiano Ronaldo - and Liverpool could have a special card if they wish to land the Porto wonderkid. The 18-year-old made his Porto debut less than a month after his 17th birthday and has drawn comparisons with Ronaldo. When he was just 15, Sporting Lisbon legend Manuel Fernandes said of Silva: "When Cristiano Ronaldo was 17, he played as a centre forward for Sporting's youth teams. I saw him doing things that I'm now seeing a boy from FC Porto do.” The teenager is set to attract plenty of interest in the future and Porto have already looked to tie him down with a hefty €120million release clause. Liverpool could well hold a major transfer advantage. That’s because Vitor Matos, Liverpool’s current elite development coach, worked with Silva as a youngster. He has already shown his pulling power by convincing Silva to leave Benfica for a Porto return. Jose Tavares, who held a senior role alongside Matos at Porto’s academy, told the Blood Red Podcast: "Vitor spent so many years here and he knows the training methodology because he was one of the experts that we had. He is a great human being, a great character and a great guy. His dedication to the players is something that makes him different from the other coaches. "The connection that he had with some of the players was brilliant. When I took over being the technical director of FC Porto, one of the players that left our academy was Fabio Silva. Vitor was Fabio’s head coach when he was 12 and he stayed connected with Fabio. Being a friend of Vitor myself, he told me ‘hey, Jose, I believe that Fabio is a bit upset in Benfica, and maybe he wants to move’. "He was the first guy that talked to me that got me thinking we could rescue him again and bring him back. Why? Because he can create this type of relationship with the players. Vitor proved himself as a coach that has leadership skills, is really knowledgeable, and has a great connection with the players." Source: The Mirror