If you look at the out-and-out strikers in the squad and not quasi-wingers, Silva has the best scoring rate by some distance and his return as an option after almost two months on the sidelines is a big boost for coach Fernando Da Cruz.
Silva scored in the 3-0 win over Kruger United that opened Chiefs’ Betway Premiership campaign and was an unused substitute for the 2-0 win over Sekhukhune United that followed, with Etiosa Ighodaro preferred.
But if you go purely by numbers, Silva looks the best bet and his record for Chiefs has been decent since he arrived at the start of last season.
Silva has managed 11 goals and one assist in 32 appearances to date, a goal every 151 minutes.
Next on the list in terms of forwards at the club is Wandile Duba, who has 12 goals and five assists in 65 appearances, or a goal scored every 267 minutes. That is basically one every three games, something he will want to remedy.
That is certainly the case for Ighodaro, who has a single goal in 12 appearances and 678 minutes, or more than 11 hours of football. That lone strike came against Simba SC in the CAF Confederation Cup last season.
It is clear that Silva is the most effective striker in the squad at present, if you play to his best attributes, which means balls into the box for him to get on the end of.
Whether he starts in the next game away at Zambian side Red Arrows on the weekend of October 16-18 remains to be seen, but he has so far proved a very handy option.