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After weeks of being linked with a move to Tottenham Hotspur, Savinho ended up staying at Manchester City and is expected to return to action after the international break.

Manchester City decided not to sell Savinho even though it is believed that Spurs would shell out an offer in excess of £60 million to sign him.

However, only time will tell whether the Brazilian international is content about his future at City.

Savinho was keen to join Tottenham to play regular football under Thomas Frank ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

Man City will not sell Savinho in January

GRV Media’s transfer expert Graeme Bailey revealed Manchester City hugely admire Rodrygo and they continue to hold the 24-year-old in high esteem, who was their dream replacement for Savinho.

However, Bailey feels the situation surrounding the 21-year-old is “one to watch.”

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Graeme Bailey told Manchester City News: “Hugo Viana has enjoyed a good window and he has had to manage the departures of some huge names such as Kevin De Bruyne, Ederson and Ilkay Gundogan – it is a real rebuild going on. But they have done well, the one they were really happy with is Tijjani Reijnders and then they brought in Gianluigi Donnarumma under the radar in many ways.”

“In terms of January, I am told Viana is already on with the planning – from now this is Viana’s club – he needs to come up with the answers. A new right-back is under consideration, but they are happy with Rico Lewis so let’s see how that one works out.”

Graeme Bailey claimed that despite Tottenham’s continued interest in Savinho, Manchester City’s current stance is not to sell the winger, saying: “I think Savinho situation is one to watch – they really like Rodrygo and I would keep a close eye on him for January, but as with most clubs they don’t really love operating in January if they can help it – so it will be form and injury dependent, but City are generally very happy with this squad.”

“As it stands, no but January is a long way away – things can change.”

The reason why Man City blocked Savinho’s move to Tottenham

Considering Graeme Bailey stressed that the situation could change, only time will tell whether Savinho will remain a Manchester City player or sign for Tottenham.

Ferran Torres’ move to Barcelona in January 2022 shows that City are willing to part ways with unsettled players in the new year.

However, the Sky Blues seem to rate the youngster far more than they did Torres, with Manchester City blocking Savinho’s move to Tottenham.

It is believed that an unnamed high-ranking official at City opposed the attacker’s switch to Tottenham as he feared that the player could become a star elsewhere like Cole Palmer.

After being at the forefront of one of the summer’s biggest transfer stories, Savinho must focus on all things on the pitch after his potential move to Tottenham Hotspur broke down.

Manchester City refused to sell Savinho to Tottenham and the winger now has another chance of repaying the Sky Blues’ faith in him this season.

The 21-year-old has returned to training after being unavailable for City’s first three games of the season.

Savinho had suffered an injury and upon his return to fitness, Manchester City fans have vouched for him to be named in Pep Guardiola’s starting XI as soon as possible.

Man City fans can’t wait for Savinho to play after he returns to training

One Manchester City fan claimed that once Savinho is ready to start games, Guardiola should deploy him in his usual right-wing position and play Oscar Bobb as a number 10: “Chance for Pep to play [Oscar] Bobb [on the] right in the midfield, Bernardo [Silva] can hold bench since he’s a net negative going forward.”

Another City supporter named the Brazilian in his dream front three, commenting: “Doku, Haaland, Savinho. Easy.”

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A third Manchester City fan was hoping Savinho starts on the left-wing against Manchester United after the international break: “Savinho and Bobb for the derby please, [Omar] Marmoush behind [Erling] Haaland.”

A fourth City fan claimed the Troyes wideman’s incredible ability to carry the ball over long distances has been missed, as he wrote: “Yes! We’ve missed his ball-carrying, man.”

Another supporter believes that despite Savinho naming right-wing as his “favourite position”, he has the ability to start on either flank for Pep Guardiola’s side with ease: “Either wing is wide open for him, if he’s serious, he’ll grab it.”

Finally, a sixth Manchester City fan believes that Savinho could be set to have a breakthrough season, as he simply claimed: “These stocks will cash in. I can feel it.”

Manchester City blocked Savinho’s move to Tottenham, with an unnamed figure within their board fearing he could become a star elsewhere like Cole Palmer and it is time for him to show he is an elite player in the making.

Tottenham fans react after seeing Savinho training for Man City

Tottenham fans had mixed reactions after witnessing Savinho return to training for Manchester City.

One supporter backed Spurs to sign the youngster in January, as he wrote: “Bit of a coincidence. We’ll be back in January to save you, bro.”

However, another fan predicted that despite Savinho being open to joining Tottenham, he will reject a move to the Lilywhites as Pep Guardiola will start him regularly: “The worst thing is Pep & City are going to play him week in week out and he’s not gonna want a move for January. Move onto [Antoine] Semenyo/[Antonio] Nusa/CHO [Callum Hudson-Odoi.”

Another Spurs fan simply commented: “Bit of a coincidence” after spotting the highly-rated attacker return to training for City after the summer transfer window.

It will be interesting to see whether Savinho pulls up his socks and performs for Manchester City or ends up having a difficult spell before hoping to sign for Tottenham in the winter transfer window.

Manchester City were strongly linked with a move for Rodrygo throughout the summer transfer window.

It was confirmed by Manchester City News that Pep Guardiola’s side were eyeing Rodrygo to replace Savinho if he signed for Tottenham Hotspur but the latter ended up staying at the Etihad Stadium.

However, it seems like City were content with the fact that the 21-year-old is continuing his stay in the blue half of Manchester.

Ultimately, Manchester City decided to keep Savinho this summer.

Rodrygo’s ideal scenario was staying at Real Madrid as well.

Man City should rue not signing Morgan Gibbs-White

As a result, missing out on the Brazilian’s signature should not affect Manchester City as much as missing out on Morgan Gibbs-White, who was keen to play for the English giants.

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Manchester City felt Gibbs-White was overpriced at £70 million but it is believed that his teammates at Nottingham Forest were of the opinion that it was inevitable that he would play under Pep Guardiola this season.

While Rodrygo would likely have elevated City’s attack, the £25 million (Sky Sports) man is a player who would have improved them by adding physicality to their midfield, his expansive passing range as well as goals and assists.

Aside from Tijjani Reijnders, Manchester City lack another all-rounder in midfield who can play as a number eight and behind the striker and it could be argued that the Dutchman is yet to acclimatise to Premier League football.

Tottenham found out about Gibbs-White’s release clause worth £60 million and they were keen on signing him as well. Spurs were close to signing Gibbs-White before he unexpectedly extended his contract until 2028 in July.

With Nico Gonzalez still finding his feet in a City shirt and Bernardo Silva being past his best, Pep Guardiola lacks a top-class central midfielder in his ranks apart from Reijnders — who is just three Premier League games into his time in England.

Man City’s reason for not sealing Morgan Gibbs-White signing

Considering sporting director Hugo Viana has admired Gibbs-White for years, it would come as no surprise if Manchester City made a move for him in January or next summer.

Pep Guardiola spoke to Gibbs-White after City beat Nottingham Forest 2-0 in the FA Cup semi-final last season, which suggests how keen the Sky Blues were on his signature.

Despite being interested in sealing a deal for him, Manchester City chose not to sign Gibbs-White as they felt a better use of their funds would have been to sign more than one midfielder.

As a result, City proceeded to do so by snapping up both Reijnders and Rayan Cherki.

Manuel Akanji’s future is one of the biggest talking points surrounding Manchester City on deadline day.

Tottenham Hotspur have shown interest in Akanji’s signature and it seemed like they were prepared to make a late swoop to secure his services.

However, the 30-year-old has attracted interest from other clubs as well.

One of them is AC Milan, who are interested in signing Akanji as well.

Inter Milan keen to sign Manuel Akanji

However, with only a few hours left before the summer transfer window slams shut, there may not be enough time left for Manuel Akanji to seal a move elsewhere.

On the other hand, the Swiss international’s teammate Ederson is set to join Fenerbahce as Gianluigi Donnarumma is primed to join Manchester City.

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Fabrizio Romano has now reported that Inter Milan consider Manchester City defender Akanji as the “ideal replacement” for Benjamin Pavard.

The deal is not considered “easy” due to a lack of time left on deadline day and Marseille only being open to signing Pavard on loan — with a permanent exit not currently on the cards for the World Cup winner.

Manuel Akanji’s stance on leaving Man City on deadline day

Whether Inter Milan can pull off a deal to sign Akanji remains to be seen.

However, Manchester City News have confirmed that Akanji is not pushing to leave Manchester City.

Furthermore, Pep Guardiola and City are happy to keep the versatile defender as both Tottenham and AC Milan have not pushed to sign the player.

But there remains a possibility that despite the aforementioned factors that Akanji may be set for an exit.

Manuel Akanji’s future at Manchester City remains uncertain.

Tottenham Hotspur were keen to sign Akanji, who is yet to make a single appearance for City in the Premier League this season.

While even AC Milan appreciate Akanji, whose contract at the Etihad Stadium expires in 2027.

However, there now seems to be more clarity regarding where the Swiss international will be playing his football this season.

Manuel Akanji is not keen to leave Man City amid Tottenham and AC Milan interest

GRV Media’s transfer expert Graeme Bailey revealed that Manuel Akanji is not particularly keen on leaving Manchester City despite Tottenham and AC Milan showing interest in his signature.

Earlier this summer, Pep Guardiola confirmed Akanji would stay at City and the defender is believed to be ready to fight for his place in the side.

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Graeme Bailey told Manchester City News: “Manuel Akanji has never been overly keen to leave Manchester City – he knows he is not first-choice but he is ready to battle for his place.”

“Spurs like him a lot as did Milan but I’m not sure anyone of them really pushed.”

Pep Guardiola referred to Akanji as “really intelligent” as the Catalan and Manchester City are open to keeping him, even though the chances of him leaving on deadline day can still not be ruled out.

“He could still go on Monday but that is unlikely now and the club like him, this is not one of those cases of a bad egg or anything, he is welcome to stay – the club and Pep Guardiola like him.”

Club director openly suggests he wants to sign Manuel Akanji

Since his move to the Etihad Stadium in 2022, the 30-year-old has largely been reliable for City.

The former Borussia Dortmund centre-back has also aided Pep Guardiola due to his versatility as he is capable of playing as a full-back as well.

Igor Tare, AC Milan’s director suggested Akanji is his priority signing recently, admitting: “This change in formation in the last few days has put us in a bit of trouble.”

“We need to do our best in these 72 hours to bring home an experienced player, and he is.”

Tottenham Hotspur are looking to sign a member of Manchester City’s squad before the summer transfer window shuts.

The North London club have had their eyes on several players at the Manchester club throughout the summer and had their heart set on signing Savinho, with Spurs ready to pay over £60.5m (€70m) to bring the Brazilian to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy even met with Man City officials when the two teams played at the Etihad Stadium last weekend, but there were also discussions over another star.

Man City have since told Spurs that Savinho is not for sale, but a move for the other target could be a possibility.

Tottenham hold talks over the transfer of Nathan Ake

Man City are working on outgoings throughout the remainder of the transfer window as Pep Guardiola has made it clear that he wants the size of his squad reduced.

Having not played a single minute against Wolves on the opening weekend of the season, Everton enquired about the availability of Nathan Ake, but have since lost interest.

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According to Givemesport, Tottenham have now shown interest in the £40m Dutch star and have held discussions with Manchester City in a bid to discover whether a transfer is possible.

Talks took place at the Etihad Stadium last weekend between both clubs as Thomas Frank is keen to add numbers to his defence, despite keeping back-to-back clean sheets in the Premier League.

The Danish coach is a fan of Ake, and with Tottenham having plenty of fixtures to deal with throughout the 2025/26 campaign, the new Spurs boss wants to provide competition for Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven.

Very difficult for Tottenham to sign Nathan Ake

Tottenham will find it hard to get a deal done for Ake over the coming days because Manuel Akanji looks set to leave Man City before the summer transfer window shuts.

Guardiola will not want to lose two central defenders without a replacement, and with doubts over the fitness of Rayan Ait-Nouri heading into the weekend’s match with Brighton, the Dutch star is also cover at left-back.

One of Manchester City’s main stars looked absolutely “fuming” during Saturday’s Premier League loss to Tottenham Hotspur, according to BBC Sport pundit Pat Nevin.

Manchester City had a day to forget last Saturday, with Tottenham once again leaving the Etihad Stadium with all three points.

The Citizens’ unbeaten home record came crashing down when Spurs ran out 4-0 winners at the Etihad less than a year ago.

And Man City were unable to make amends this time round as Brennan Johnson and Joao Palhinha struck for the visitors in the first half.

Nevin also said there was something else that concerned him about City’s play that doesn’t bode well going forward.

Erling Haaland ‘fuming’ he wasn’t set up after losing his marker

Nevin noted how Erling Haaland made a number of his trademark runs on Saturday in anticipation of an eye-of-a-needle pass, but it never came.

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On one occasion, Haaland looked visibly annoyed, and Nevin worries whether Man City’s new recruits can assist the Norwegian in a similar manner to Kevin De Bruyne or Phil Foden.

“Erling Haaland made one of his trademark runs finally losing his marker, and that through-ball was on,” Nevin wrote on BBC Sport.

“He makes dozens of these runs every match in the hope that he gets free once or twice. His problem was that Kevin De Bruyne has departed and it wasn’t Phil Foden on the ball.

“The pass wasn’t played and the chance was gone in a heartbeat. Haaland was fuming and I am sure Pep was disappointed.

“The new generation he has brought in such as Omar Marmoush, Rayan Cherki and Nico Gonzalez are fine players but are they going to reach the world class levels of their predecessors?

“If they do not see those types of passes as a matter of course, they could fall short of the admittedly stellar levels that are demanded at City.”

How Erling Haaland’s teammates are hoping to get the best out of him

With Kevin De Bruyne leaving Man City and joining Napoli, Haaland will be hoping that another player can replace the Belgian as his partner-in-crime up top.

Rayan Cherki vowed to make Haaland more dangerous over the course of the campaign by creating chances aplenty for the striker.

More recently, it has been reported that Jeremy Doku is working on building chemistry with Haaland in a bid to create more chances for him.

It’s still very early days in the campaign – City will go from strength to strength over the coming weeks and months.

Roy Keane has noticed a pattern forming at Manchester City following their 2-0 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend.

Pep Guardiola’s men struggled against the North London club at the Etihad Stadium last Saturday with players such as Rayan Cherki struggling to deal with Thomas Frank’s man-to-man system.

The defeat showed the Man City boss that there is still a lot of work to do if the Manchester club are to put together a title-winning campaign, and Roy Keane thinks they will struggle to do so.

The former Manchester United star believes City have lost a key element of their game that made them special throughout the Guardiola era, and only time will tell if they can find it again.

Roy Keane believes Man City do not win big games anymore

Tottenham have always been a bogey team for Man City; therefore, the North London club defeating Guardiola’s team would not have come as a shock to fans of the Manchester side.

Keane believes this is related to a deeper problem at the Etihad Stadium, with the Sky Sports pundit believing that City have lost the habit of winning big games.

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“But you look at last year, whatever were the goalkeepers, I think Man City have lost a habit as well, by the way, whatever you say about Spurs,” Keane said on Stick to Football.

“You don’t feel Man City are going to win big games anymore. They didn’t seem to win big games last year.”

Man City had a very poor record against the Premier League’s ‘Big Six’ last season across the 10 games they played, with the Manchester club winning three, drawing two, and losing the remaining five.

Guardiola’s men failed to win any of the four games they played against their Premier League title rivals Liverpool and Arsenal during the 2024/25 campaign, which shows that Keane has a point.

These games are often crucial to deciding where the Premier League ends up, and with Man City already worried about Arsenal’s transfer business this summer, there could be a repeat of these results over the coming months.

Ian Wright doesn’t want to hear Man City excuses

In addition to Keane, Ian Wright also has doubts about Man City’s title credentials, as he did not want to hear any excuses when Jill Scott was offering them up.

“I think City just need a little bit of time. Obviously, they’ve got new signings. I think it was the youngest team that fielded since 2010 or something,” Scott said

To which Wright responded by saying: “I don’t want to hear that, Jill, I don’t wanna hear that.

Scott would follow that up with: “No, but the way that they play is like, it’s all about structure and patterns, that these players need time to like, and I know you’re saying they don’t have it, they don’t have time, but they need it.”

There is a lot of work to do at City, and Guardiola will be happier once the transfer window is shut and he knows what players he has to work with throughout the 2025/26 season.

Manchester City have decided to keep Savinho despite Tottenham Hotspur’s longstanding interest in signing the player.

Savinho is rated highly by Manchester City as they informed Spurs that they have no intention of selling him.

With Oscar Bobb’s re-emergence after his return to full fitness, the Brazilian could be buoyed by having to compete for a starting place in Pep Guardiola’s side this season.

Manchester City hope Savinho kicks on this campaign after his promising debut season.

Tottenham could sign Savinho if Man City change their sale stance

Ahead of the 2026 World Cup, Savinho will have to up his game or risk not being named in Brazil manager Carlo Ancelotti’s squad.

Thomas Frank’s system appealed to Savinho as he was promised to be given the licence to play his natural game under the Dane’s instructions.

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Journalist Rudy Galetti has revealed that while Tottenham have ended their pursuit to sign Savinho, they could still secure his services if Manchester City change their stance and reopen the door to a potential sale.

As things stand, Spurs are believed to be “monitoring other targets” after failing to complete a deal involving the 21-year-old.

Savinho’s former teammate could be open to Tottenham move

Considering Savinho was keen to play for Thomas Frank, his focus must now shift towards becoming one of Manchester City’s main men instead of dwelling on his failed move to Tottenham.

Furthermore, Maghnes Akliouche is on Spurs’ radar already.

Savinho’s former PSV Eindhoven teammate, Xavi Simons could be open to joining Tottenham.

The youngster has all the talent in the world to become a top player but this season will truly reflect whether he has the mentality to do so as well.

Manchester City fans would be hoping that Pep Guardiola and Co go out in the market and further bolster their squad after their 2-0 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur.

Gianluigi Donnarumma could join Manchester City soon — who would be a statement addition if the move went over the line.

While Rodrygo looks likely to stay at Real Madrid, a late twist in the tale could mean City bring in one of the best forwards in the world.

It is also important to remember that Pep Guardiola’s side have already made quality signings such as Rayan Cherki, Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Ait-Nouri and James Trafford this summer.

Xavi Simons could be open to Tottenham Hotspur move

Manchester City were targeting Xavi Simons as well, which shows how ambitious they have been since the start of the ongoing window.

Simons, who Dani Olmo called a “complete player” is one of the most gifted youngsters in Europe.

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However, according to the Telegraph, Tottenham Hotspur are “holding talks” to sign the Dutch international.

Tottenham have been interested in Manchester City-linked midfielder Xavi Simons for a while and there is “optimism” that he could be open to a move to Spurs.

RB Leipzig value the former Paris Saint-Germain attacker at £60 million.

Xavi Simons has already decided whether he would join Man City

At the Etihad Stadium, the 22-year-old would have the chance to play with several players he has already trained and played alongside such as Nathan Ake and Tijjani Reijnders for the Netherlands and his former PSV Eindhoven teammate Savinho.

However, when he was linked with a transfer to Manchester City, Simons’ preference was to sign for Chelsea but it looks like Tottenham are planning to hijack the move.

Considering City have plenty of attacking midfielders such as Rayan Cherki, Phil Foden and Oscar Bobb, they will perhaps not be looking to make a late attempt to secure his services.