Pep Guardiola reveals truth on Savinho sale stance after £70M Tottenham offer | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has explained how the club went about future talks with Savinho amid strong interest from Tottenham in the winger in August.

Tottenham pursued the signing of the 21-year-old in the final weeks of the summer transfer window as they sought replacements for departed club legend Son Heung-Min and James Maddison, who suffered an ACL tear in pre-season.

Having joined Manchester City from CFG-owned side ESTAC Troyes last summer, Savinho amassed over 3,000 senior minutes in his first season at the Etihad Stadium as Guardiola and co endured their most challenging season in a decade.

Savinho’s head was understood to have been turned following interest from north London, with Thomas Frank identifying the Brazilian winger as a potent addition to his frontline – at a time when the Manchester City star was believed to be unsure of his long-term prospects at the Etihad Stadium.

However, a move collapsed despite Tottenham making a reported £70 million offer for Savinho as Manchester City chief executive Ferran Soriano blocked the move internally owing to a belief that the winger’s ceiling is too high for the Blues to sell him for that figure a year into his arrival at the club.

Savinho signed a new deal a few weeks ago and the Brazilian’s new contract is believed to include a significant pay hike and a release clause, which could come in handy should the young forward seek a departure in the years to come.

Speaking in a press conference ahead of Manchester City’s Premier League clash with Aston Villa on Sunday, Guardiola was asked whether it has been difficult to get Savinho to concentrate in training and be fully focussed after the happenings of the summer.

“No. (Savinho signed a new contract now, so he’s clearly happy with the club) Yeah, absolutely. I think the club showed him how much we want him, how much we count on him, and I think it was good,” Guardiola said on Friday.

“And the proof of that is we signed the contract because otherwise we would not trust, the club didn’t trust, don’t trust with him – we would not do it.

“And of course sometimes with the agents in the pre-season, the transfer window and market, you can do this, you can win more money here, money there, the other clubs and the managers, always you are a little bit (uncertain).

“That’s why I had the feeling when the transfer window is closed, now we start the season and everyone is focused. And he is.”

On whether he was against a transfer and wanted to keep hold of Savinho at Manchester City, Guardiola added: “Yeah, absolutely. But at the end, if he insists on, ‘I want to leave, I want to leave,’ and the offer is good for the club, and after the club, I have my opinion, but always, always, since I arrived here, in Barcelona, in Bayern Munich, the last word belongs to the club.

“But maybe tomorrow I’m not here, and the player will stay here, and will stay with another manager. And the club has to be sure that that player wants.

“Of course, I give my opinion, they ask me and I give; with Txiki (Begiristain), with Hugo (Viana), with Ferran (Soriano), with Khaldoon (Al Mubarak), always I give my opinion about the player and the other one, what I think should happen.

“But the last word, the decisions always with Txiki, with Hugo, belongs to them. It has to be like that.”

After setting up Erling Haaland against Everton last weekend and being voted Man of the Match in City’s 2-0 UEFA Champions League win over Villarreal in mid-week, Savinho is in line to start against Aston Villa on Sunday.