Tottenham's £300m Summer Spending with Savinho Deal
Tottenham are closing in on another statement signing, with an agreement in place to buy winger Savinho from Manchester City for £75million, plus a further £10m in potential add-ons.
The Brazil international’s arrival would blast Spurs’ summer outlay beyond the £300m barrier, in a window where the club have already shattered their transfer record twice: first with the £85m capture of Mateus Fernandes, then with Sandro Tonali’s £100m switch from Newcastle.
And they are not done shopping in Manchester. Spurs are also targeting Savinho’s City team-mate Omar Marmoush as Roberto De Zerbi continues to reshape the squad in his image.
De Zerbi: “You don’t win with big-name players”
De Zerbi refused to be drawn directly on Savinho, but the smile between the lines was hard to miss.
“It is not right to speak about players until they are official,” the Spurs head coach said when asked about the Brazilian. “Just to say, I am very happy. We have not finished yet in the transfer market. It is an important part.
“So far, we have had a great [summer for] signings. Great players and personalities. But you don’t win the game with big-name players. We have to deserve to win games.”
The Italian was quick to share the credit for Spurs’ aggressive, targeted recruitment.
“We are working very well with Johan Lange, with Vinai [Venkatesham], and with Nick [Beucher] — with the whole board,” he added, underlining the alignment between the dugout and the directors’ box that Tottenham have often lacked in recent years.
Three months that “feel like ten years”
De Zerbi arrived in March with Spurs staring over the edge. He dragged them clear of relegation on the final day of last season; the scars, and the lessons, are still fresh.
“It feels like I’ve been here ten years, but just three months,” he said. “Three very intense months. We can’t forget what happened last season. It’s a big lesson for us. We are building a big project.”
Those months have hardened his view of what Tottenham must become. The chequebook has been open, but De Zerbi’s obsession lies elsewhere.
Two “big challenges” to define the season
For all the money spent, the coach boiled his summer down to two clear missions.
“Now the big challenge — the first two targets — we are very clear in ourselves, is to find the soul of the team,” he explained. “The second target is to improve in our organisation of football, with the ball and without the ball.
“Our style has to be the key of our season. These two characteristics I want to find as soon as possible.”
The message is blunt. The signings can light up the headlines. De Zerbi wants something harder to buy: a Spurs side with a soul, a structure, and a style that can carry all this spending into something more than numbers on a balance sheet.
