For the second summer transfer window in a row, Tottenham Hotspur have been in the market to sign a winger.
The departure of Brennan Johnson in January and long-term injuries to Mohammed Kudus and Wilson Odobert have limited Spurs’ wide options entering the 2026-27 season.
Mathys Tel can operate on the left, but the absences of Kudus and Odobert mean that Roberto De Zerbi’s side lacks a dribbler to complement the French forward’s profile.
So it was not surprising that Spurs continued their pursuit of Manchester City’s Savinho, a saga that started last summer and is set to conclude after an £85million deal was agreed on Friday.
Savinho is a creative dribbler and his ability to operate on either flank makes him a valuable option even after Kudus and Odobert return.
The 22-year-old Brazilian can play down the left when Kudus is on the right, while his left-footedness offers different crossing angles from Odobert on that side.
Savinho’s dribbling ability — in small and large areas — is his strongest asset, which is useful in quick build-ups, transitional situations and against low blocks.
He can bypass opponents in tight spaces and close to the byline due to his trickery and short bursts of acceleration, which is visible by the location of his take-ons during the 2024-25 Premier League season (the 821 minutes Savinho played with City in 2025-26 is a relatively small sample size to analyse).
The proactiveness of Savinho’s dribbling is evident in the volume of his take-ons. His rate of 6.3 take-ons per 90 minutes was the 11th-highest in Europe’s top five leagues in 2024-25 when compared with fellow wingers who played at least 900 minutes.
As illustrated in the carry map below, Savinho mainly dribbles on the outside of the opponent’s full-backs, which is an area for improvement as he needs to diversify his actions to create different shooting and crossing angles. However, there were encouraging signs from the 2024-25 season that this aspect can be developed.
Savinho’s trait of going on the outside is complemented by his ability to cross with either foot, which means he doesn’t need to adjust his body shape to cross with his dominant left.
In this example, from City’s 2-1 defeat against Spurs in October 2024, Savinho is facing Destiny Udogie down the right wing.
The Brazilian fakes a dribble with his left, and immediately pushes the ball into space with his right.
Savinho’s acceleration gives him an advantage, but it’s his ability to cross with his right foot that allows him to capitalise on the small crossing angle that opens up before Udogie closes him down.
The City winger puts the ball towards the back post, and Matheus Nunes finishes the move.
Savinho’s comfort on either foot allows him to dribble with one and cross with the other, limiting the time for the opposition to react.
Add in his acceleration, and you get an idea about how Savinho can create chances from the tightest of spaces down the flanks and in dangerous zones in the final third.
Since arriving in the Premier League in 2024, nearly half (46 per cent) of Savinho’s chances created from open play have come in the half-space zones in the penalty area.
Savinho’s creative output was on show in his first season at City, providing eight assists in the Premier League and three in the other competitions.
Meanwhile, his open-play expected assists (xA) per 90 (0.34) was the third-highest among players who played at least 900 minutes in the 2024-25 Premier League campaign — only Kevin De Bruyne (0.36) and Mohamed Salah (0.37) had a higher rate.
“He is a player with incredible potential,” City’s previous manager, Pep Guardiola, said during the 2025 Club World Cup. “We can’t forget he is so young. He needs to be more decisive in the final third in (certain) aspects.
“The moment he will make this step — in a natural way it will come because he has incredible individual quality — he will become an extraordinary player. He can play on both sides, right or left, is so fast, and he understands tactically the movements he has to do.”
One of the areas where Savinho is yet to reach his potential is his finishing. Across his two Premier League seasons with City, he underperformed in front of goal, only scoring twice from 7.4 non-penalty expected goals (xG).
The main area of improvement is Savinho’s tendency to shoot straight at the goalkeeper instead of finding the near or far corners of the goal, as seen in the examples below.
Coincidentally, his only Premier League goal last season came when he slotted the ball into the far corner in City’s 3-0 victory against Crystal Palace in May.
This type of finish and blasted shots into the top of the near post are the types of efforts Savinho needs to work on to improve his goalscoring rate.
There are other aspects of Savinho’s profile that may translate better to a more vertical De Zerbi side compared to Guardiola’s City.
In the last two seasons, the winger showed glimpses of his off-ball runs behind the opponent’s defence, an ability to control the ball comfortably with either foot and use his first touch to attack the space.
These characteristics can be more dangerous in a more direct role down the wings. In addition, Savinho’s pace with and without the ball makes him a threat in transitional situations.
It remains to be seen how Savinho’s move to Spurs will play out, but the 22-year-old should instantly upgrade the team’s attack, while also having room for significant improvement.