Silas Mvumpa: Who is the VfB Stuttgart and DR Congo attacker?
Silas Mvumpa has helped VfB Stuttgart storm into the Bundesliga's top four during the first half of 2023/24. bundesliga.com profiles the rocket-fuelled DR Congo international...
Stats correct as of 4 January 2024
Age: 25
Club: VfB Stuttgart
Position: Winger/striker
Country: DR Congo
Key stats
Born on 6 October 1999 in the Democratic Republic of Congo's capital city Kinshasa, Silas was discovered at 12-years-old by Black Mountain Sport academy before going on to join local side Olympic Matete FC. Young Wamangituka spent six years with Matete before moving to France, where he first arrived at fifth-tier side Ales in 2017. A year later, Silas made the move to Ligue 2 outfit Paris FC in the French capital, where he made his professional debut on 31 August, 2018. Silas was largely used as a centre-forward with the Parisians and he scored 11 times in 32 appearances in his first season before Stuttgart came calling in the summer of 2019.
Silas hit his first Stuttgart goal on his seventh appearance - an otherwise disappointing 6-2 loss at Hamburg in October 2019. His second goal for the club a week later was far more enjoyable as Stuttgart saw off Dynamo Dresden 3-1 and, by the end of the campaign, he had played a significant role in securing VfB's return to the top-flight. Silas closed out the 2019/20 season with seven goals and eight assists in Germany's second division, contributing four assists and a goal in Stuttgart's last four games to see them over the line in style as Silas's rapid ascent took him from France's fifth division to the Bundesliga in just three years.
Watch: Silas named 2020/21 Rookie of the Season
Top-flight football was yet another hurdle he took in his stride. Silas scored on his Bundesliga debut in the derby defeat to Freiburg on the opening day, and won the November, December (2020) and February 2021 Rookie of the Month awards after a stunning start to the campaign. Silas scored for the fourth match in a row on Matchday 19 with a stunning solo effort in victory over Mainz to take his tally to 11 goals and three assists, before being ruled out for the remainder of the campaign with an anterior cruciate ligament rupture in his right knee.
Despite that injury, he took home the 2020/21 Rookie of the Season award and Silas made his Bundesliga return against Mainz on Matchday 13 of the 2021/22 campaign - his first appearance in seven months. He's now up to 80 Bundesliga appearances and 29 goal involvements, including seven and six in 2022/23 and midway through 2023/24 respectively. The Congolese forward - called up by his country for the first time in March 2023 - was also clocked at 22.5 mph (36.16 km/h) - the second-fastest sprint time this term.
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Plays a bit like: Timo Werner
Indeed, there are few players as direct as Silas, who plays as if there is a magnet drawing him toward the opposition goal. One player that is similar in that regard, however, is former Stuttgart man Timo Werner, who can also ply his trade from either the wing or through the middle but almost always finds himself in the opposing penalty box.
With his rangy, imposing 6'2" frame, Silas also has something in common with the Cristiano Ronaldo of a few years ago - a winger with pace, dribbling and an appetite for goals, who, frankly, played like a striker even if his starting position didn't necessarily demand it.
Did you know?
Silas' early career was heavily linked with former France striker Nicolas Anelka, who founded the Black Mountain Sport academy in Kinshasa and has close ties with Matete - the team that gave Silas his big break in his homeland.
Watch: Silas scored a brace against Bochum on Matchday 1 of 2023/24
What they're saying
"Silas is really direct and creates so many goal-scoring chances for us." - current Stuttgart coach Sebastian Hoeneß
"He's a calm guy, but on the field he is really wild. He's really good at dribbling and is really fast." - former Stuttgart teammate Orel Mangala
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