Tottenham Nears Savinho Transfer as Manchester City Prepares Replacement
Tottenham Hotspur’s long pursuit of Savinho is finally nearing its conclusion, and this time Manchester City are acting like a club that knows the deal is happening.
Spurs, who first tried to prise the Brazilian away last summer with a £60million offer, are now pushing through a move worth around £65m. City, according to Simon Jones of the Daily Mail, have already started working on his replacement, turning their attention to Paris Saint-Germain prospect Ibrahim Mbaye.
This is no longer a flirtation. It’s an endgame.
A year in the making
Tottenham’s interest in Savinho never really went away. It was simply put on ice.
Last year, Spurs made contact and were prepared to go big, only to be rebuffed as City had no intention of selling. Savinho, frustrated by a lack of minutes under Pep Guardiola and keen to become a central figure in north London, was ready to move then. Instead, he signed a new six-year contract at the Etihad, a deal that looked at the time like the closing of a chapter.
It wasn’t. It was a pause.
The winger’s renewal briefly quietened speculation, but Spurs circled back in recent months, encouraged by the player’s continued openness to a move and by City’s changing stance as they reshaped their attacking options.
On Thursday, transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano cut through some of the noise around Tottenham’s plans on the flanks. Reports had linked Antonio Vergara with a move from Napoli; Romano dismissed them outright.
“Vergara is not a target for Tottenham,” he said, adding that the Italian is signing a new contract at Napoli with an improved salary. The message was blunt: ignore the Vergara talk, keep your eyes on Savinho.
“The player they want for winger position is Savinho,” Romano stressed. That line now looks more loaded than ever.
City prepare for life after Savinho
The clearest sign that this saga is entering its decisive phase is not coming from Tottenham, but from Manchester.
Jones reports that City are “closing the sale of Savinho to Tottenham for around £65million” and have begun to scan the market for wide players. One name is now firmly on their radar: Ibrahim Mbaye of PSG.
The 18-year-old winger, who caught the eye for Senegal at the World Cup, is being monitored by City, Aston Villa, Tottenham and RB Leipzig. Mbaye is expected to leave PSG this summer as his path to regular minutes narrows at the French champions, and he is now represented by super-agent Jorge Mendes — a detail that usually signals serious movement at the top end of the market.
City had previously explored the idea of bringing in Rodrygo from Real Madrid as a potential replacement for Savinho, but that enquiry went nowhere and they have moved on to other options. Mbaye is one of them.
When a selling club is already working on the next man in, the writing is usually on the wall.
Spurs choose their winger – and it’s not Leao
Inside Tottenham, the picture is becoming just as clear.
If Jones’ information is accurate, Spurs have not only revived their interest in Savinho but have increased their bid to £65m and are now “poised” to land him. The move is expected to be straightforward: Savinho wants the transfer and is ready to agree personal terms.
That clarity has consequences for other names on their shortlist.
Tottenham have been linked with Cody Gakpo and Rafael Leao as alternative options out wide. Gakpo, though, has effectively been taken off the table. Liverpool decided on Wednesday that the Dutchman will not be sold this summer, preferring to strengthen their wide areas rather than weaken them.
Leao is a more intriguing subplot. On July 5, it emerged that the AC Milan star had said yes in principle to joining Spurs in a potential €50m (£42m) deal. For many clubs, the chance to sign a player of his profile at that price would be irresistible.
Yet Tottenham, as it stands, appear to be prioritising Savinho instead.
That choice says plenty about how highly they rate the 22-year-old Brazilian. It is a bet on age, on ceiling, on a winger they believe can grow into a central pillar of their attack rather than a marquee name dropped in from elsewhere.
A statement window in the making
The deal is not over the line yet, and football has a habit of twisting when it seems to be running straight. But all the signals now point in the same direction.
Savinho wants Spurs. Spurs want Savinho. City are preparing to replace him.
If Tottenham do get this across the line, they won’t just be signing a winger. They’ll be landing a player they have chased, waited on and finally prised away from the champions — ahead of rivals, and at a price that underlines their intent.
For a club trying to turn promise into trophies, that kind of conviction in the market can define a season.
