Xande Silva
Portuguese professional footballer (born 1997)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alexandre "Xande" Nascimento da Costa e Silva (born 16 March 1997) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a winger or forward for Israeli Premier League club Hapoel Tel Aviv.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alexandre Nascimento da Costa e Silva[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 16 March 1997[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Porto, Portugal[2] | ||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)[2] | ||
| Positions | |||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Hapoel Tel Aviv | ||
| Number | 10 | ||
| 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) |
| 2024–2025 | Atlanta United | 30 | (2) |
| 2025 | St. Louis City | 13 | (0) |
| 2025– | Hapoel Tel Aviv | 21 | (1) |
| 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 as of 23 June 2026 | |||
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 of Angolan descent,[3] Silva joined Vitória de Guimarães' academy at the age of 17 after a five-year spell at Sporting CP.[4] 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.[5] He scored his first goal in the competition the following 18 January, helping the hosts beat Benfica B 4–1.[6]
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.[7] His maiden league goal occurred on 7 December 2015, in a 3–1 home defeat of Rio Ave.[8]
West Ham United
Silva joined West Ham United for an undisclosed fee on 2 August 2018,[9] 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.[10][11]
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.[12] 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.[13]
On 5 October 2020, Silva was loaned to Aris for the season.[14] He scored his first goal in the Super League Greece on 2 December, his individual effort capping the 3–0 win at AEL.[15]
Nottingham Forest
On 31 August 2021, Silva joined EFL Championship club Nottingham Forest on a two-year deal for an undisclosed fee.[16] 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.[17]
Dijon
On 2 August 2022, Silva signed a three-year contract with Dijon for an undisclosed fee.[18][19] 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.[20][21]
Atlanta United
In August 2023, Silva was loaned to Atlanta United of Major League Soccer for the remainder of the campaign.[22] 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.[23]
Later career
On 23 April 2025, St. Louis City acquired Silva.[24] He moved to the Israeli Premier League in August, with Hapoel Tel Aviv.[25] He was sent off just eight minutes into his debut for the latter, a 2–2 away draw against Maccabi Bnei Reineh.[26]
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.[27]
Two years later, Silva helped the under-19 team to the semi-finals of the 2016 European Championship in Germany.[28] He was then selected by under-20 manager Emílio Peixe for the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup,[29] where he scored in the quarter-final against Uruguay, which they lost after a penalty shootout.[30][11]
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.[31][32][33]
Career statistics
- As of match played 23 April 2025[34]
| 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 | |
| 2025 | Major League Soccer | 7 | 0 | – | – | - | 7 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 40 | 4 | 1 | 0 | – | 7 | 3 | 48 | 7 | |||
| St. Louis City | 2025 | Major League Soccer | – | – | – | – | – | |||||
| Career total | 188 | 19 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 209 | 22 | ||
- Includes Taça de Portugal, FA Cup, Greek Football Cup, U.S. Open Cup
- Includes Taça da Liga
- Appearance in Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira
- Appearance in EFL Trophy
- Appearances in MLS Cup playoffs
- Two appearances in Leagues Cup, two appearances and one goal in MLS Cup playoffs
