Why Savinho is Tottenham's number one target!

Late last night, Fabrizio Romano confirmed that Tottenham Hotspur had begun club to club talks with Manchester City over a potential transfer move for Brazilian forward Savinho or 'Savio'. 

This comes after weeks of silence from Spurs' recruiting department and Director of Football, Johan Lange, leaving many fans frustrated and concerned that the club is being left behind by its' rivals. 

With James Maddison now confirmed to have undergone surgery for an ACL injury he picked up versus Newcastle, this means Tottenham have zero fit creative midfielders for next weekends league opener against Burnley. 

But now in a shocking terms of events it looks a possibility for Savio to make the move from Manchester to the capital, but what does this mean for the squad? What does Savio offer? How could Frank set his side up? And who should make way and join the bench to accommodate the Brazilian?

Player profile

Savinho joined Manchester City in the summer of 2024 and impressed in his debut season. Across all competitions, Savio contributed to 16 goals in 48 appearances, 11 of those coming in the Premier League across 29 matches. 

Throughout his career, Savio has built himself the reputation of being a versatile winger, capable of being deployed on either side of the pitch when called upon. In fact, his games played as a left-winger and a right-winger are separated by just one appearance, 58 on the left and 57 on the right. 

Savio is an elite ball carrier, across the last year in comparison to other Premier League wingers, Savio ranks in the top 4% for progressive carries (6.61) and progressive passes (12.99) per game. 

The Brazilian boasts an impressive skill set, able to beat his man with a clever bit of trickery followed by a burst of acceleration, he offers qualities that Thomas Frank might not be able to receive from the likes of Johnson or Richarlison. 

How could Thomas Frank deploy his frontline?

When comparing Savio to Brennan Johnson, Johnson averages only 0.79 successful take-ons completed per 90, ranking him in the bottom 11%. Meanwhile Savio averages 2.69, placing him in the top 6%. 

They are complete polar opposites to one another. Johnson in theory should be deployed as a striker who can play off Solanke, requiring very little of beating his man with ball manipulation and not out-wide far from goal. This is further backed by the fact Johnson ranks in the top 7% for non-penalty goals, averaging 0.48 per 90, bettering Savio's 0.08 considerably. 

We've established Savio is a much more conventional winger who can draw out full-backs leaving pockets of space for other attackers to exploit, but what about compared to other players in the squad except Johnson?

An alternative setup Frank could opt for is deploying Kudus centrally into that creative midfielder role and allowing him to play to his biggest strength, ball carrying. 

Compared to other midfielders, Kudus ranks in the top 2% for progressive carries (3.41) and the top 1% for successful take-ons (3.20). By deploying Kudus in the 10, he's able to pick the ball up from deep and drive forward, terrorising defenders. Whilst this could be a temporary fix if Spurs were unable to sign a 10 during the transfer window, the next option I believe is the strongest and the setup that's a long-term fix. 

The likely outcome is that Savio will become Tottenham's long-term left-winger once a creative midfielder is either fit or brought to the club. Whilst Tel is an exciting talent, this pre-season he looks to have struggled confidence wise. It's difficult to judge him off of a 6-month loan playing in a side where he didn't suit hugging the touchline. Instead it would have been made clearer if we got to see him play more as an inside forward. 

At just 20-years-old, there is still plenty of time for Tel to flourish, but for now he isn't ready to fill the gigantic boots left by the recently departed Heung-Min Son. However, a wing pairing of Savinho and Kudus with Solanke as the striker, with Odobert, Tel and Johnson all to come on off the bench and make an impact is enough to make any Spurs fan drool from the mouth. 

Savinho also massively boosts the sides problem with a lack of creativity from its' wingers that has became glaringly apparent in recent pre-season games. Last season the Brazilian produced 10 assists in the league, bettering Ryan Mbeumo, Morgan Gibbs-White and Kevin De Bruyne. Pair this with a fully fit Dejan Kulusevski or James Maddison and it's hard to not get excited, whether you're a neutral or a fan.

Reports suggest a bid in the region of £70 million would be enough to tempt Man City into selling just a year after arriving in England.