Bournemouth left Portman Road on Sunday with their eighth consecutive victory, Evanilson and Ryan Christie seeing off Ipswich Town 2-1 and extending a winning run that now sits level with the eight in a row Eddie Howe strung together during the 2012-13 League One promotion season.

At the centre of it is Antonio Silva. The 23-year-old joined from Benfica on 1 August in a deal worth £21.4m up front plus £4.3m in add-ons, and three months later he is the player Marco Rose builds the back line around. During the eight-win sequence, Bournemouth have scored 21 goals and conceded only two.

From Benfica academy to south-coast anchor

Silva came through Benfica’s academy from 2015 and broke into the first team in August 2022, at the age of 18. He left the Portuguese capital with 183 senior appearances and six major honours, including the 2022-23 Primeira Liga title and the 2024-25 Taça da Liga.

Rose ‘really impressed’ by the Portugal defender

Rose told Yahoo Sports in September he had been “really impressed” with Silva, saying the defender carried himself as though he had been in the Premier League “for multiple years” rather than for three months.

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“We were sharp, and I really appreciate that given this week is going to be really demanding for a team,” Rose said after the Ipswich win.

Nine clearances in the Ipswich win

Silva is winning close to 72% of his defensive duels per 90 minutes in the Premier League this season, one of the strongest returns of any top-flight centre-back. Against Ipswich he recorded nine clearances, one tackle won, one interception and two blocks, his fourth league match this season of nine or more clearances.

Bournemouth sit seventh in the Premier League, three points off the top four, heading into the international break.

Recalled by Portugal for Denmark and Wales

Silva has been recalled by head coach Jorge Jesus to Portugal’s 28-man squad for Nations League meetings with Denmark on 14 November and Wales on 17 November, having been left out of the summer World Cup and the previous international window.

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Bournemouth’s next Premier League match is at home to Nottingham Forest on 21 November.

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