Xande Silva

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Nascimento Costa and the second or paternal family name is Silva.

Xande Silva

Personal information
Full name	Alexandre Nascimento da Costa e Silva[1]
Date of birth	(1997-03-16) 16 March 1997 (age 27)[2]
Place of birth	Porto, Portugal[2]
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)[2]
Position(s)	Winger, forward
Team information
Current team	Atlanta United
Number	16
Youth career
2007–2008	Alverca
2008–2009	Belenenses
2009–2014	Sporting CP
2014–2015	Vitória Guimarães
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2014–2018	Vitória Guimarães B	52	(4)
2015–2018	Vitória Guimarães	26	(1)
2018–2021	West Ham United	1	(0)
2020–2021	→ Aris (loan)	29	(4)
2021–2022	Nottingham Forest	8	(0)
2022–2023	Dijon	32	(6)
2023	→ Atlanta United (loan)	10	(2)
2024–	Atlanta United	24	(2)
International career
2012	Portugal U15	2	(1)
2012–2013	Portugal U16	11	(3)
2013–2014	Portugal U17	15	(4)
2014	Portugal U18	2	(1)
2015–2016	Portugal U19	21	(5)
2016–2017	Portugal U20	14	(5)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:24, 27 October 2024 (UTC)

Alexandre "Xande" Nascimento da Costa e Silva (born 16 March 1997) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a winger or forward for Major League Soccer club Atlanta United.

In his career, he played for Vitória de Guimarães (first team and reserves), West Ham United, Aris, Nottingham Forest, Dijon and Atlanta United.

Silva was a youth international for Portugal.

Club career

Vitória Guimarães

Born in Porto, Silva joined Vitória de Guimarães' academy at the age of 17 after a five-year spell at Sporting CP.^[3] He started his senior career with the former's reserves, making his Segunda Liga debut on 17 August 2014 by coming on as a late substitute in a 1–0 away loss against Oliveirense.^[4] He scored his first goal in the competition the following 18 January, helping the hosts beat Benfica B 4–1.^[5]

Silva's first appearance in the Primeira Liga took place in the penultimate match of the season, and he played 11 minutes in a 0–0 home draw with Benfica after replacing Otávio.^[6] His maiden league goal occurred on 7 December 2015, in a 3–1 home defeat of Rio Ave.^[7]

West Ham United

Silva joined West Ham United for an undisclosed fee on 2 August 2018,^[8] signing a three-year contract and being recruited initially for the under-23 team. He scored a four-minute hat-trick on his Premier League 2 debut 11 days later, against Tottenham Hotspur.^[9][10]

Silva made his Premier League debut on 30 December 2018 in a 2–0 away defeat to Burnley, coming on as a second-half substitute for Marko Arnautović.^[11] He missed the start of the 2019–20 season due to illness; rushed into hospital in Portugal, he underwent emergency bowel surgery from which he was recuperating.^[12]

On 5 October 2020, Silva was loaned to Aris for the season.^[13] He scored his first goal in the Super League Greece on 2 December, his individual effort capping the 3–0 win at AEL.^[14]

Nottingham Forest

On 31 August 2021, Silva joined EFL Championship club Nottingham Forest on a two-year deal for an undisclosed fee.^[15] His maiden appearance took place on 15 September, when he replaced Lyle Taylor midway through the second half of an eventual 0–2 home loss against Middlesbrough.^[16]

Dijon

On 2 August 2022, Silva signed a three-year contract with Dijon for an undisclosed fee.^[17][18] He ranked second in his team in the scoring department at six (alongside Bryan Soumaré), but they were relegated from Ligue 2 after finishing third-bottom.^[19][20]

Atlanta United

In August 2023, Silva was loaned to Atlanta United of Major League Soccer for the remainder of the campaign.^[21] On 4 December, after starting in eight of his regular season appearances and scoring twice in the playoffs, a transfer option was exercised and he agreed to a two-year deal with the option of another year.^[22]

International career

Silva was capped by Portugal at every youth level between under-15 and under-20. He was part of the under-17 squad that reached the semi-finals of the 2014 UEFA European Championship, and was named in the Team of the Tournament.^[23]

Two years later, Silva helped the under-19 team to the semi-finals of the 2016 European Championship in Germany.^[24] He was then selected by under-20 manager Emílio Peixe for the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup,^[25] where he scored in the quarter-final against Uruguay, which they lost after a penalty shootout.^[26][10]

Personal life

Silva's father, Joaquim, was also a footballer. Also a forward, he spent most of his career in China and Portugal and represented the Angola national team.^[27][28][29]

Career statistics

As of match played 2 November 2024^[30]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup[a]		League cup[b]		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Vitória Guimarães B	2014–15	Segunda Liga	23	2	–		–		–		23	2
	2015–16	LigaPro	8	1	–		–		–		8	1
	2016–17	LigaPro	10	1	–		–		–		10	1
	2017–18	LigaPro	11	0	–		–		–		11	0
	Total		52	4	–		–		–		52	4
Vitória Guimarães	2014–15	Primeira Liga	1	0	0	0	0	0	–		1	0
	2015–16	Primeira Liga	20	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	21	1
	2016–17	Primeira Liga	4	0	2	0	1	0	–		7	0
	2017–18	Primeira Liga	1	0	0	0	0	0	1[c]	0	2	0
	Total		26	1	3	0	1	0	1	0	31	1
West Ham United U23	2018–19	Premier League 2	–		–		–		1[d]	0	1	0
West Ham United	2018–19	Premier League	1	0	1	0	0	0	–		2	0
	2019–20	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	–		0	0
	2020–21	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	–		0	0
	Total		1	0	1	0	0	0	–		2	0
Aris (loan)	2020–21	Super League Greece	29	4	4	0	—		0	0	33	4
Nottingham Forest	2021–22	Championship	8	0	2	0	0	0	–		10	0
Dijon	2022–23	Ligue 2	32	6	0	0	–		–		32	6
Atlanta United (loan)	2023	Major League Soccer	10	2	0	0	–		3[e]	2	13	4
Atlanta United	2024	Major League Soccer	23	2	1	0	–		4[f]	1	28	3
Career total			181	19	11	0	1	0	9	3	202	22

1. Includes Taça de Portugal, FA Cup, Greek Football Cup, U.S. Open Cup
2. Includes Taça da Liga
3. Appearance in Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira
4. Appearance in EFL Trophy
5. Appearances in MLS Cup Playoffs
6. Two appearances in Leagues Cup, two appearances and one goal in MLS Cup Playoffs

References

1. "2019/20 Premier League squads confirmed". Premier League. 3 September 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
2. "Xande Silva" (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
3. Augusto, Fernando (6 March 2013). "Golos de Xande ganham projecção" [Xande goals making a name] (in Portuguese). Super Sporting. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
4. "Oliveirense-V. Guimarães B, 1–0: Golo de Sérgio dá o triunfo" [Oliveirense-V. Guimarães B, 1–0: Sérgio goal gives win]. Record (in Portuguese). 17 August 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
5. "V.Guimarães B goleou Benfica B" [V.Guimarães B routed Benfica B]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). 18 January 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
6. "Benfica campeão nacional" [Benfica national champions] (in Portuguese). Rádio e Televisão de Portugal. 17 May 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
7. "Vitória de Guimarães vence Rio Ave" [Vitória de Guimarães beat Rio Ave] (in Portuguese). TSF. 7 December 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
8. "West Ham United sign promising Portuguese forward Xande Silva". West Ham United F.C. 2 August 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
9. "Under-23s sunk by quickfire treble". Tottenham Hotspur F.C. 13 August 2018. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
10. Inkersole, Sam (14 August 2018). "Who is Xande Silva? West Ham's newest goalscoring sensation who put Tottenham to the sword". Football London. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
11. Sutcliffe, Steve (30 December 2018). "Burnley 2–0 West Ham United". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
12. Inkersole, Sam (29 July 2019). "West Ham striker set to return to London after horrific emergency surgery ordeal". Football London. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
13. "Xande Silva joins Aris Thessaloniki FC on season-long loan". West Ham United F.C. 5 October 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
14. Tempelis, Vassilis (2 December 2020). "ΑΕΛ – Άρης 0–3: Επιστροφή στις νίκες με τριάρα, έπιασε τον Ολυμπιακό" [AEL – Aris 0–3: Return to winning ways with three, caught Olympiacos] (in Greek). Sport 24. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
15. "Xande Silva joins The Reds". Nottingham Forest F.C. 31 August 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
16. "Nottingham Forest 0–2 Middlesbrough". BBC Sport. 15 September 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
17. "Xande Silva departs". Nottingham Forest F.C. 2 August 2022. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
18. "Xande Silva au DFCO pour 3 ans!" [Xande Silva to DFCO for 3 years!] (in French). Dijon FCO. 2 August 2022. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
19. Michel, Pierre-Antoine (20 May 2023). "Pronostic Nimes Dijon" [Nimes Dijon preview] (in French). Rue des Joueurs. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
20. Beria, Adrien (5 June 2023). "Le DFCO relégué en National, quelles conséquences sur le plan financier?" [DFCO relegated to National, what are the financial repercussions?] (in French). France Bleu. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
21. Sigal, Jonathan (2 August 2023). "Atlanta United acquire Portuguese forward Xande Silva". Major League Soccer. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
22. "Atlanta United exercises transfer option on Xande Silva". Atlanta United FC. 4 December 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
23. "Technical report" (PDF). UEFA. p. 21. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 September 2017. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
24. "Under-19 – Portugal-France". UEFA. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
25. Gomes de Andrade, Maria (2 May 2017). "Os convocados da Seleção Nacional para o Mundial Sub-20" [The national team picks for the Under-20 World Cup] (in Portuguese). TVI 24. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
26. "Uruguay progress, Portugal pay the penalty". FIFA. 4 June 2017. Archived from the original on 4 June 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
27. Calhau, Pedro (3 April 2014). "Filho de Quinzinho é internacional português e inspira-se em Balotelli" [Son of Quinzinho is a Portuguese international and draws inspiration from Balotelli] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
28. "Quinzinho, treinador-adjunto do Vilafranquense, disse no fim de semana ao filho, Xande Silva, jogador de Vitória de Guimarães, que se iam encontrar nos "oitavos" e que lhe ia ganhar" [Quinzinho, Vilafranquense assistant coach, told this weekend his son, Alexandre Silva, Vitória de Guimarães player, that they would meet in "last-16" and he would beat him]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). 24 November 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
29. "Xande Silva reveals the heroes who inspired him". West Ham United F.C. 28 November 2018. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
30. Xande Silva at Soccerway

External links

• Xande Silva at ForaDeJogo (archived)
• Portuguese League profile (in Portuguese)
• Xande Silva national team profile at the Portuguese Football Federation (in Portuguese)
• Xande Silva – FIFA competition record (archived)