Savio: A look at Man City’s new winger after deal is agreed
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The January transfer window only shut last week, but Manchester City are believed to have already agreed a deal for Girona’s Savio for the summer.
Savio (real name Sávio Moreira de Oliveira) is part of the Girona side lighting up La Liga this year. He’s played 25 times for the Spanish underdogs this year, scoring seven goals. The tricky winger is a key reason why Girona are second in the league right now, just two points behind Real Madrid.
But who is Savio? How will he fit into Man City’s team? And why is his move to Pep Guardiola’s side so interesting? Join Ladbrokes as we look to answer all those questions…
Who is Savio?
Savio is a 19-year-old winger playing at Girona this season. He’s on loan from parent club Troyes, who are currently 15th in Ligue 2 at the time of writing. He joined the French club in 2022 from his native Brazil, but has yet to actually play for them. He’s at Girona this season, as noted, but the previous campaign saw him playing in Holland for PSV, where it became clear he was one of the future.
While he’s yet to make a senior appearance for Brazil, the winger has played for the Under 20s side on three occasions, and it won’t be too long before Savio is mixing it up with Vinicius Jr and co on the main stage.
Savio is the left-footed winger known for his blistering pace, making him a nightmare for La Liga defences this campaign. He ranks incredibly well for assists, carries, take-ons and progressive passes, showing why top clubs across Europe, including Man City, were interested in signing him.
Interestingly, Savio’s stats from the last year are similar to those of Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku, the two left-wingers that Man City currently has on its books, again showing why Guardiola wanted to bring him to the club. City have moved over the last few months into wanting more dribblers and ball-carries in their side, like Doku, and Savio fits that bill to a tee.
But what makes Savio’s move to City so interesting?
Man City have agreed to a deal to sign Savio
It was reported on February 5 that, ahead of the summer transfer window, Man City have agreed a deal to bring Savio to the Premier League for the 2024/25 season. The deal, which is believed to be worth around £26m (€30m), was apparently discussed in December ahead of the January transfer window, but will now take place in the summer as Savio looks to help Girona secure a shock La Liga title win.
What makes Savio’s situation so interesting is that Girona and Troyes are both part-owned by City Football Group, the company that owns Man City.
Savio was on the radar of several top clubs around Europe, according to reports, but Man City were always expected to win the race to sign the winger if they wanted to, and that’s what has happened.
At the time of writing, there’s no word on whether Savio is going to be playing for City next year, or if Guardiola’s side have purchased him as an investment, with the view of sending him out on loan once again for more first-team experience in the 2024/25 season.
If he does stay, City are more than stacked in the wide positions, with Julian Alvarez, Phil Foden, Oscar Bobb and Bernardo Silva, as well as the aforementioned Doku and Grealish, occupying those wide positions currently.
The deal to bring Savio to City represents a lot of what the future of football is likely to look like. The winger is Troyes’ record signing, but hasn’t actually played for the club.
After a loan at PSV, he moved to another of City Group’s clubs, and now has completed a permanent transfer to Man City, who sit at the top of the group’s pyramid.
The deal represents the future of football, in particular transfer dealings, now that multi-club ownership is becoming more and more prevalent across the game.
Don’t let that take away from Savio though. He’s a top, top player with bags of potential. With a few seasons working under Guardiola in his future, the sky really is the limited for the highly-rated youngester.
