João Silva, a 26-year-old Portuguese defender and former captain of KV Kortrijk, has officially left the club to join Sport Recife, a new entrant in the Brazilian Serie A. His exit was expected as he had not been included in KV Kortrijk's last two matches. Over his 2.5-year tenure with the club, Silva made 88 appearances, scored five goals, and provided three assists. In anticipation of his departure, KV Kortrijk had already bolstered their defense by signing three new defenders in January: Ryotaro Tsunoda, Jean-Kévin Duverne, and James Ndjeungoue.