Savinho is not helping himself again amid Tottenham's transfer interest but Manchester City have plenty to think about.
Pep Guardiola embraces Savinho after his Manchester City cameo vs Southampton
Pep Guardiola embraces Savinho after his Manchester City cameo vs Southampton(Image: James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images)
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Tottenham are interested in signing Manchester City winger Savinho for the second consecutive summer, and there will be little love lost if the move does get over the line. The Brazilian winger was hailed as the biggest City Football Group success story yet when he signed for Pep Guardiola's side from Troyes after a successful loan at Girona, yet it just hasn't worked out.
Fans can live with that - it has taken Jeremy Doku and Matheus Nunes into their third year at the club to really impress - and the frustration that Savinho brings on the pitch is mostly because he is almost there. As Guardiola has said for a while, as soon as he gets what he has to do in the final third consistently, the 22-year-old will be a terrific player.
However, that potential has not turned itself into talent yet and the fact Savinho did not even make the 55-man longlist for the Brazil squad for the World Cup this summer is damning. Moves to City should result in players becoming more appealing to national team coaches, not less.
Once again, the social media activities of Savinho and his team are not helping either. Last year while Tottenham were trying to sign him there were pictures posted on Instagram from the player with suitcases in shot and this week his agent posted the pair of them down in London the morning after the parade and then managed to like a post from a journalist reporting interest from Spurs.
It is about as subtle as a slap around the chops and not something that plays well with fans or club staff. Plenty of work in the recruitment team goes into the character of players, and indulging in such speculation is not something that is expected of anyone representing City.
Having only bought Savinho for around £30m, City can make their money back and more by selling to Spurs this summer. It is an easy win for sporting director Hugo Viana (and CFG) as long as the money they get for the winger is more valuable than the player he turns into.
The outstanding issue though is that even if Savinho is not the answer for City in the final third, who is? If it is a solution of sorts to decide that the Brazilian will not turn into what Enzo Maresca needs, and definitely a success to get a significant transfer fee for him, it still leaves the squad one man lighter and in need of somebody new to come in that will only add to the pressure on Viana and his team to get it right this time.
City do not need to add many players to their squad to make it capable of winning the title next season, yet they could end up having to because of outgoings. After one season of transition because of so many new faces, do the Blues want another? Or, if they cannot avoid it, how can they make the best of it?
Savinho could be an interesting case study for how City move on from the Guardiola era, with even more eyes on Viana as the club readies for what looks again to be a pivotal summer for signings.