In March 2007, Silva signed his first professional contract, agreeing to a five-year deal with Sporting.
In July, after spending the final two months of the season playing with the reserve team, he was officially promoted to the main squad by manager Paulo Bento ahead of the upcoming campaign.
He made his Primeira Liga debut on 17 August, taking the field as a late substitute in a 4–1 home win against Académica de Coimbra; on 12 December, after appearing as an unused substitute in several league and European matches, he made his first professional start and Champions League debut in a 3–0 victory over FC Dynamo Kyiv.
Four days later, he made his first start in the league in a 2–1 win at C.S. Marítimo.

Silva featured in both legs of Sporting's round of 32 win against Bolton Wanderers in the 2007–08 UEFA Cup.
On 16 April he started in the 5–3 win over S.L. Benfica in the semi-final of the Taça de Portugal, being replaced after only 35 minutes in what was the last of his 15 appearances of the season.

As in his first year, Silva struggled for minutes in 2008–09.
He played his first match on 22 November 2008 in a 1–0 league defeat of Associação Naval 1º de Maio, playing 16 minutes off the bench.
He made his first start in a 3–0 home win against Marítimo in the Taça da Liga, and he also made Bento's starting XI three months later in the Lions' 1–7 loss to FC Bayern Munich in the Champions League last 16 second leg.
He made 19 appearances in all competitions, notably playing the full 90 minutes in home wins against of C.F. Estrela da Amadora and C.D. Nacional.

Silva scored his first career goal in a 2009–10 UEFA Europa League group stage match against Hertha BSC, the match-winner in a 1–0 win, when he also was sent off after collecting a second yellow card in injury time.
On 28 November 2009, in the Lisbon derby, which ended 0–0, he made headlines in the Portuguese media because he covered the most distance of any Sporting player, having traveled over 10,049 metres (6.244 mi).
Coach Carlos Carvalhal started him in 13 of the team's next 15 matches, but he eventually fell out of favour, as Sporting went on to finish in only fourth place with 48 points, the club's worst points total since the 1992–93 campaign.

On 27 June 2010, it was announced that Silva would be joining Israeli side Maccabi Haifa F.C. on a season-long loan deal.
The move was facilitated by the player's agent Pini Zahavi, based in Tel Aviv.
He made his debut for his new team on 29 July, in the first leg of the Europa League third qualifying round tie against FC Dinamo Minsk; he was rarely played in the Israeli Premier League, but was a regular in the campaign in the Toto Cup.

In January 2011, it was reported that Silva was considering going back to Portugal to regain match fitness.
On the 16th, he spoke of his desire, telling daily sports newspaper A Bola: "Returning to Portugal is an option that I like a lot since I can be followed more closely.
In Israel, I don't have great visibility"; Three days later, a six-month loan to Académica de Coimbra was confirmed.

Silva found the net in his first appearance with the Students, who were defeated 1–2 away against S.C. Olhanense.
He was again used rarely, but now due to injury problems – he fractured the fifth metatarsal in his right foot in a game with U.D. Leiria in March, which sidelined him for the rest of the season.

On 5 July 2011, Sporting and Académica extended the loan for a further season.
On 26 September, completely recovered from his injury, Silva scored his first career brace in a 4–0 home win against C.D. Feirense; on 19 November, in the fourth round of the Portuguese Cup, he scored his team's second in a 3–0 shock victory over Porto, adding another double in the next round against Leixões SC (5–2 after extra time).
He played the full 90 minutes in the final, a 1–0 defeat of Sporting which saw the Coimbra side lift their first domestic cup in 73 years.

After returning to Sporting, Silva was awarded the club's Player of the Year award on 28 November 2013.
He scored a career-best ten competitive goals in the
In March 2007, Silva signed his first professional contract, agreeing to a five-year deal with Sporting. In July, after spending the final two months of the season playing with the reserve team, he was officially promoted to the main squad by manager Paulo Bento ahead of the upcoming campaign. He made his Primeira Liga debut on 17 August, taking the field as a late substitute in a 4–1 home win against Académica de Coimbra; on 12 December, after appearing as an unused substitute in several league and European matches, he made his first professional start and Champions League debut in a 3–0 victory over FC Dynamo Kyiv. Four days later, he made his first start in the league in a 2–1 win at C.S. Marítimo.
Silva featured in both legs of Sporting's round of 32 win against Bolton Wanderers in the 2007–08 UEFA Cup. On 16 April he started in the 5–3 win over S.L. Benfica in the semi-final of the Taça de Portugal, being replaced after only 35 minutes in what was the last of his 15 appearances of the season.
As in his first year, Silva struggled for minutes in 2008–09. He played his first match on 22 November 2008 in a 1–0 league defeat of Associação Naval 1º de Maio, playing 16 minutes off the bench. He made his first start in a 3–0 home win against Marítimo in the Taça da Liga, and he also made Bento's starting XI three months later in the Lions' 1–7 loss to FC Bayern Munich in the Champions League last 16 second leg. He made 19 appearances in all competitions, notably playing the full 90 minutes in home wins against of C.F. Estrela da Amadora and C.D. Nacional.
Silva scored his first career goal in a 2009–10 UEFA Europa League group stage match against Hertha BSC, the match-winner in a 1–0 win, when he also was sent off after collecting a second yellow card in injury time. On 28 November 2009, in the Lisbon derby, which ended 0–0, he made headlines in the Portuguese media because he covered the most distance of any Sporting player, having traveled over 10,049 metres (6.244 mi). Coach Carlos Carvalhal started him in 13 of the team's next 15 matches, but he eventually fell out of favour, as Sporting went on to finish in only fourth place with 48 points, the club's worst points total since the 1992–93 campaign.
On 27 June 2010, it was announced that Silva would be joining Israeli side Maccabi Haifa F.C. on a season-long loan deal. The move was facilitated by the player's agent Pini Zahavi, based in Tel Aviv. He made his debut for his new team on 29 July, in the first leg of the Europa League third qualifying round tie against FC Dinamo Minsk; he was rarely played in the Israeli Premier League, but was a regular in the campaign in the Toto Cup.
In January 2011, it was reported that Silva was considering going back to Portugal to regain match fitness. On the 16th, he spoke of his desire, telling daily sports newspaper A Bola: "Returning to Portugal is an option that I like a lot since I can be followed more closely. In Israel, I don't have great visibility"; Three days later, a six-month loan to Académica de Coimbra was confirmed.
Silva found the net in his first appearance with the Students, who were defeated 1–2 away against S.C. Olhanense. He was again used rarely, but now due to injury problems – he fractured the fifth metatarsal in his right foot in a game with U.D. Leiria in March, which sidelined him for the rest of the season.
On 5 July 2011, Sporting and Académica extended the loan for a further season. On 26 September, completely recovered from his injury, Silva scored his first career brace in a 4–0 home win against C.D. Feirense; on 19 November, in the fourth round of the Portuguese Cup, he scored his team's second in a 3–0 shock victory over Porto, adding another double in the next round against Leixões SC (5–2 after extra time). He played the full 90 minutes in the final, a 1–0 defeat of Sporting which saw the Coimbra side lift their first domestic cup in 73 years.
After returning to Sporting, Silva was awarded the club's Player of the Year award on 28 November 2013. He scored a career-best ten competitive goals in the 
Adrien Silva