Blues plan for life after Savinho
Manchester City's recruitment team are working on the assumption that Savinho's time at the Etihad is coming to an end, with Palmeiras winger Allan emerging as a leading candidate to fill the void.
Foot Mercato's Santi Aouna reports that the Blues have made tangible progress in their attempts to sign the 22-year-old Brazilian, a move framed explicitly as preparation for the probable departure of the current wide man.
Significantly, Aouna says the move has been made in anticipation of the probable departure of Savinho, whose future has become one of the major issues still to be resolved before the transfer window closes.
Allan has four goals and two assists from 20 Serie A appearances for Palmeiras this season, enough to mark him out as an important figure in their plans. He is also, notably, left-footed — a detail that will not have escaped the analytics department.
Palmeiras, however, are not playing ball. They rejected an approach from Aston Villa last month that could have reached €30m — roughly £26m — including bonuses, and made it abundantly clear they had no intention of selling mid-season.
There has been no indication since that their position has shifted, nor that any agreement has been reached with City. What we have, then, is a club quietly doing its homework on a Plan B while the Savinho situation rumbles on.
How quickly this moves depends entirely on whether a buyer emerges for Savinho. Until then, Allan remains an option being explored rather than a deal being done. Patience, as ever, is the order of the day.