What Savinho will add to Thomas Frank’s Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur have been enjoying a splendid summer transfer window as Daniel Levy looks to get a stacked roster going into the new campaign. The North Londoners have signed some big names in Tel, Danso, Kudus, and Palhinha this summer, and while they are big names, they represent bigger upgrades. But lately the North Londoners have been subject to a move for Manchester City winger Savinho of late, and these links look like they have a lot of depth to them…
Making a move for the Brazilian wide forward is not just stacking talent for the sake of it, but this is Thomas Frank quietly shaping his wide channels for the next stage of his rebuild at Hotspur Way.
So, what kind of a player is Savinho?
What Savinho will add to Thomas Frank's Tottenham Hotspur.
Savinho will add dynamism to the Tottenham Hotspur attack.
The 21-year-old Brazilian has already shown us enough in his time at Manchester City that he can make a crowd sit up, on the edge of their seats. And while he is officially a right winger, the Atlético Mineiro academy graduate played more games off the left under Pep Guardiola, and this exact two-footedness is enough to keep full-backs guessing. You will see him chop inside on his left or go outside on his right, and then when you think you have got a hold of it, he will then do the exact opposite next time just to annoy you. He loves to go into 1v1s and make his marker turn the wrong way.
But it is not only what you see; the numbers back that up as well. If we look into his stats from last season, Savinho recorded 6.61 progressive carries per 90, and the thing is he was not just receiving it high up and carrying it into his channel; you will see him drop in, spin past his man and carry it 40 yards into dangerous areas. And when it comes to crossing, the 21-year-old can get both the cute lofted type of crosses as well as whip one across the face of the goal.
That being said, there is still one massive flaw in his game, and that is the fact that he is raw in front of goal. And that is as well backed up by numbers, given that he recorded just one Premier League goal last season. And it could sometimes be down to decision-making; sometimes it’s just poor execution. The club think it’s coachable.
How can Thomas Frank integrate Savinho into his Tottenham roster?
Thomas Frank already has a dynamic roster of options, especially when it comes to the players available who can play out wide, with Kulusevski bringing his creativity and retention, Johnson having his raw running capacity, and Tel having that ability to play in behind. Summer signing Kudus has that ability to hold his man and make some space to drive onwards. But then none of the above have that flair of dribbling and unpredictability like Savinho. Someone who is a direct runner but can create that moment of chaos when the game’s gone a bit flat.
And the biggest tactical advantage would be to pair him with Pedro Porro. The Spaniard goes outside while Savinho ducks in (like we saw with Kudus and Porro), or vice versa, and this leaves the marking full-back with absolutely no clue over which runner to track.
When playing against low blocks, Savinho can wriggle out of tight corners, while when you give him minutes against high lines, he can take advantage of the space.
Then if we think about the 4-4-2 press that Frank usually deploys, he needs wide men who are ready to hunt, and Savinho brings exactly that given his sharp closing speed and the way he is aggressive about his counter-pressing (one of the goals that Man City scored last season literally came from him nicking it in the final third).
TTLB Opinion
The first thing that we feel about the whole transfer is that Savinho only really makes sense if Daniel Levy also brings in another creative midfielder, given Maddison’s injuries. You need someone in that second phase to slide passes into the Brazilian’s runs and actually make the most of the movement that he brings to the table. Otherwise you run the risk of him being the guy who beats three men and finds no one making the right run or bouncing the passes off.
But given that seventy million price tag in the news, this is a gamble, a big one for me, but a good kind of gamble given that if Thomas Frank integrates him properly at Hotspur Way, he has that capacity to be someone who can turn cagey afternoons against deep defences into three points.