Quite a bit, judging by the discussion at Roberto De Zerbi’s Tottenham press conference on Tuesday, shortly after the club had completed the £75m signing of Savinho from Manchester City and the Brazil winger had let everybody know that he wanted to be called Sávio from now on. He will have that name on his Spurs shirt above his No 17, which he has taken over from Cristian Romero, the former captain who has moved to Atlético Madrid. The 22-year-old went by Sávio at various times before his two seasons at City but there was nonetheless speculation about the reasons for the reversion.
Savinho translates roughly from the Portuguese as “little Sávio”. Was it him saying that he was now an older and more mature player? On the subject of theories, there is one about the fee, which could rise to £85m in add-ons.
Even at £75m, it represents a record sale for City, who paid £30.8m to take Sávio from Troyes. Spurs are pushing to sign another attacker from City – Omar Marmoush, whose previous club Eintracht Frankfurt have a sell-on clause. Are Spurs paying more for Sávio in order to pay potentially less to City for Marmoush, which could reduce the liabilities to Eintracht?
De Zerbi has plenty on his plate after Spurs’ dismal 3-0 defeat at Brentford on Saturday in their Premier League opener and before the Carabao Cup tie at home against Charlton on Wednesday night. If Savinho stays Sávio, nothing changes for me.” De Zerbi said the talks for Sávio had started three days after the end of last season. It has been a mini‑epic to get the deal over the line but well worth it, according to the Spurs manager, who rates Sávio as one of the best in the world for being able to get past his marker when one‑against‑one.
The challenge for Sávio will be to improve his end product, particularly in terms of goals. He scored only seven for City in all competitions and only two in 53 Premier League appearances. Sávio is available for selection against Charlton, his paperwork having been completed in time.
De Zerbi did get around to accepting that Sávio’s rebrand was part of a fresh start for the player. What is not in doubt is Spurs’ need for one after Brentford, when all the excitement around a summer of heavy spending turned to frustration; a very familiar sinking feeling. It is possible to explain away the shambles against Brentford, who were not only much more joined-up but appeared to want it more in the duels.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
