Adrien Silva has finally been able to take part in his first Leicester City training session, and he sported a brilliant shirt number that we really hope has been given to him on purpose.
On Deadline Day, the Foxes were desperate to land the Sporting CP captain in a ยฃ22 million move.
Image: PA
It came as a huge statement of intent from the East Midlands club, who identified Silva, a Portugal international and Euro 2016 winner as the ideal man to fill the void left by Drinkwater in central midfield.
But despite both clubs confirming that a deal had been sealed, the relevant documentation did not arrive in time for FIFA to officially approve the transfer.
Image: Leicester Mercury
And so with international clearance still pending, the move was not completed in time and a precarious position has ensured, with it looking like Silva will have to wait until the January transfer window rolls around before he is able to take to the pitch.
But what he has been able to do, is train with Craig Shakespeare's side, having been snapped being put through his paces.
Given he's not been registered as of yet, the 28-year old does not have a squad number at the King Power stadium but in training he's been wearing the No.14 on his kit - which is incidentally the number of seconds Leicester missed the deadline by.
Surely it's not a coincidence?!
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Clearly Silva is still very much part of Leicester's plans going forward, as per Craig Shakespeare.
"He wants to play football and train," he is quoted as saying by the BBC.
"He's had to miss out not only on club football but international football and we've tried to keep his spirits up.
"I speak to him on a regular basis during training to make sure he's fully focused on what his requirements are.The camaraderie and the banter is brilliant in and around the changing rooms and I wanted to integrate him as quickly as possible and I can do that now.
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"It would be remiss of me not to plan for the worst-case scenario, which is that we don't have him until January.
"In terms of his fitness, we will have a plan in place - and we will probably have a Plan A, B, C, D, E and F, so it's something that we will continue to monitor."
Featured Image Credit: PATopics:ย Leicester City, Football, Sporting CP, Portugal
