Silva getting better in England

Published Nov. 19, 2011 1:15 p.m. ET

foxsports

Silva joined ambitious City from Valencia in the summer 2010 and after a mixed first campaign, he has now established himself as one of the best and most entertaining players in the English top flight. The 25-year-old has scored four goals and provided six assists in 11 appearances in the Premier League so far this season, inspiring Roberto Mancini's side to the top of the table after 11 matches. However, Silva remains modest about his achievement and turns down suggestions that he is the best player in England at the moment, while explaining the improvement he has undergone since leaving the Primera Liga. "There are many great players in the Premier League," the Spain international told the Daily Mail. "I won't say who I think is the best. But I would say some of them are here, at this club. "I realised it would be different but I came over here to try. I knew it was a very competitive league and that I would have to adapt the way I played in Spain to suit English football. "The game is so fast here. You have to decide where the pass has to go before you have received the ball. You need to be a fast thinker. "But thanks to the help from the club, from my team-mates, I have adjusted. I am faster, quicker." "You have to think faster but you also have to move faster," continued Silva. "The game is more physical. The tackles are harder. "You have to move faster to avoid the challenges that come from the defenders here and you have to think and move faster to stay with the pace of the game. "It is exciting, a challenge I have enjoyed. I am a better player for it." Silva featured in Spain's 1-0 defeat to England at Wembley Stadium in a friendly international last Saturday. Reflecting on that match, the former Valencia playmaker stated: "They closed down the space very well and after watching the game you could see the only way they would score was from a set-piece. "I think we tried, but they played well, closed down and marked well. They played defensive and stopped us playing. Joleon (Lescott) played well."