The centre-back bid farewell to his childhood club last night, as he captained the team and played the full 90 minutes in a 5-0 win over St Gallen to send the Portuguese club into the third qualifying round of the Europa League.
The 22-year-old was Bournemouth’s first choice target for a centre-back this season as they look to replace Marcos Senesi, who left at the conclusion of his contract at the end of last season and has since joined Spurs.
As reported, it was expected that Silva would play in the second leg after Benfica lost the first leg 2-1 away from home.
He has now been given the green light to travel to Dorset to complete his move to the Premier League in a deal that is expected to be worth €25 million plus €5 million in add-ons.
Bournemouth are understood to be very happy with the price paid for the centre back, with deals for other centre backs this summer exceeding that total.
(Image: Bradley Collyer/PA Wire)
Silva is set to become the club’s second signing of the summer after Alvaro Rodriguez joined from Elche.
He made 183 appearances in all competitions for Benfica, including in the Champions League and Europa League, and has 20 caps for the Portuguese national team.
Although right-footed, Silva prefers to play in the left centre-back role, and he turned down a new deal at the Lisbon club, prompting this move this summer.
It is understood he has a pre-existing relationship with Bournemouth’s president of football operations Tiago Pinto, who was previously director of football at Benfica.
Silva is seen as a player with a winning mentality, having won six titles with Benfica, and with extensive European experience ahead of the Cherries’ first campaign in the Europa League.
