Fabio Silva was a cocky kid with too much money, insists one of his former coaches. 

But that's what made him who he is, and the Portuegse striker could back it up on the pitch. 

Ex-Queen's Park manager Robin Veldman worked with the 21-year-old at Anderlecht in Belgium during his first loan spell away from Wolves in the summer of 2022.

And the Dutchman is backing Silva to thrive in Scotland and take his career to the next level after scoring four goals in 13 games for Rangers so far.

He told the Scottish Sun: “Fabio brings character and energy to a game.

“Outside of the pitch he can appear arrogant. You can see with his tattoos and how he looks and behaves, there is a cockiness.

“Fabio is confident in what he wants and how he sees things. He can come across as cocky. But it is from a good heart and I like him very much.

“My first impression of him at Anderlecht was he was a spoilt young kid with too much ambition, too young with too much money.

“Wolves paid massive money and his wages for his age were insane. But he had a clear idea of what he wanted — and the fact Anderlecht weren’t doing well, they were 12th in the league, wasn’t making him happy.

“Because it was a loan, Fabio felt he had to be playing for a team that was more dominant and far stronger.

“It is why he eventually made a switch halfway through that season to go to PSV in Holland.

“I stepped in as manager in October of that season and he was an important player for us.

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“I felt I had to get to know him better and we would regularly have one-to-one discussions.

“As a striker, he was having limited chances to score. So it was for me to find a way for him to be more successful, to be happier."

Veldman added:  “I had no issues with Fabio. He was a kid trying to find his way as a person and a footballer.

“I was disappointed to see him leave for PSV,  but I also understood his reason.

“When Fabio moved to Rangers we had some text conversations. I really hope he can be happy with such a big club. I am confident Fabio has a big career ahead of him.”