Inside Savinho’s failed summer transfer from Manchester City to Tottenham | OneFootball

One Manchester City insider has offered a detailed inside into why Savinho failed to complete a transfer to Tottenham during the summer months.

Savinho penned a long-term contract till 2031 a few weeks ago to commit his future to Manchester City, who saw Tottenham express a desire to add the young Brazilian to their attacking ranks in the latter stages of the recent transfer window.

The departure of club legend and UEFA Europa League winning captain Son Heung-Min and an unfortunate ACL injury suffered by James Maddison in August saw Tottenham make a late move in the market for reinforcements in attack.

Savinho played over 3,000 first-team minutes in the Manchester City first-team in his debut season in England last term, though Pep Guardiola’s men far from impressed in what was comfortably the Blues’ most challenging season under the Catalan.

In the backdrop of a regrettably dormant 2024 summer transfer window wherein chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has admitted the club should have been more aggressive, the appointment of Hugo Viana as Manchester City’s director of football this summer launched a new era at the Etihad Stadium.

Viana signed off on a series of notable exits from the first-team squad, with Kevin De Bruyne, Scott Carson and former captain Kyle Walker all shown the door. Ilkay Gundogan and Ederson were also sold in the final days of the window, with Manuel Akanji and Jack Grealish among the senior stars allowed to leave on season-long loans.

City added Rayan Cherki and Tijjani Reijnders to their attacking midfield options to mitigate the loss of De Bruyne, with the return of academy graduate Oscar Bobb from injury providing an additional outlet in attack for a side whose end product from wingers has deteriorated over the years.

Savinho’s head was turned by interest from north London and there was huge speculation linking the young winger – who spent nearly all of August out injured – with a sensational switch to Tottenham in the final weeks of the window.

According to the information of MailSport’s Jack Gaughan, Manchester City were steadfast in their stance on Savinho during the summer that it would take a huge offer – with sources outside the club suggesting north of £70 million – for the Brazilian to leave.

It is explained that interest from Tottenham enhanced once the now-ongoing Premier League season kicked off, and the situation was exacerbated by a genuine injury sustained by the Brazilian winger.

The report does stress however that the 21-year-old did ‘fancy’ a move to north London and ‘being a bigger fish’, although the recent new contract until the summer of 2031 was a reaction to Manchester City’s stance, reflecting the faith shown in him, including a ‘wage bump’.

It is believed that officials from Tottenham held direct talks with Manchester City executives over a deal for Savinho at the Etihad Stadium in August, when goals from Brennan Johnson and Joao Palhinha secured a 2-0 win for Thomas Frank’s side on matchday two of the 2025-26 Premier League campaign.