# Xande Silva

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. 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. He scored his first goal in the competition the following 18 January, helping the hosts beat Benfica B 4–1.
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. His maiden league goal occurred on 7 December 2015, in a 3–1 home defeat of Rio Ave.

### West Ham United

Silva joined West Ham United for an undisclosed fee on 2 August 2018, 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.
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. 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.
On 5 October 2020, Silva was loaned to Aris for the season. He scored his first goal in the Super League Greece on 2 December, his individual effort capping the 3–0 win at AEL.

### Nottingham Forest

On 31 August 2021, Silva joined EFL Championship club Nottingham Forest on a two-year deal for an undisclosed fee. 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.

### Dijon

On 2 August 2022, Silva signed a three-year contract with Dijon for an undisclosed fee. 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.

### Atlanta United

In August 2023, Silva was loaned to Atlanta United of Major League Soccer for the remainder of the campaign. 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.

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

## 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.

## Career statistics

    As of match played 2 November 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | National cup | National cup | League cup | League cup | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Vitória Guimarães B | 2014–15 | Segunda Liga | 23 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 23 | 2 |
| Vitória Guimarães B | 2015–16 | LigaPro | 8 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 8 | 1 |
| Vitória Guimarães B | 2016–17 | LigaPro | 10 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 10 | 1 |
| Vitória Guimarães B | 2017–18 | LigaPro | 11 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 11 | 0 |
| Vitória Guimarães B | Total | Total | 52 | 4 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 52 | 4 |
| Vitória Guimarães | 2014–15 | Primeira Liga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 |
| Vitória Guimarães | 2015–16 | Primeira Liga | 20 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 1 |
| Vitória Guimarães | 2016–17 | Primeira Liga | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 7 | 0 |
| Vitória Guimarães | 2017–18 | Primeira Liga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Vitória Guimarães | Total | Total | 26 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 31 | 1 |
| West Ham United U23 | 2018–19 | Premier League 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| West Ham United | 2018–19 | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 2 | 0 |
| West Ham United | 2019–20 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| West Ham United | 2020–21 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| West Ham United | Total | 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 | 2 | 13 | 4 |
| Atlanta United | 2024 | Major League Soccer | 23 | 2 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 4 | 1 | 28 | 3 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 181 | 19 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 202 | 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