Blues dig in as Savinho pushes for Spurs switch
There is a stand-off developing at the Etihad, and it centres on a player who has made it abundantly clear he wants out. Savinho has told City he wants to join Tottenham Hotspur this summer and work under Roberto De Zerbi, but the two clubs remain a long way apart on what he is worth.
The Brazilian submitted a transfer request earlier in the window, and Fabrizio Romano reports the winger has already reached an agreement with Spurs on personal terms. He wants the move done as quickly as possible. That, however, is where the easy part ends.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Savinho wants to join De Zerbi at Tottenham as soon as possible.
Negotiations are underway, yet the gap in valuation is significant. City signed the 22-year-old from the City Football Group network in 2024 after a breakout loan at Girona, and he is under contract until 2031. Those are not the circumstances in which a club typically discounts its asset.
City's position is straightforward: expressing a wish to leave does not mean accepting a cut-price exit. The club will not be pushed into taking a figure below its valuation simply because the player wants to go.
There is nuance here, though. City have already committed serious money to the Elliot Anderson deal this summer, and the proceeds of a Savinho sale would hand Hugo Viana the flexibility to address the remaining positions on his list before the window shuts. A deal makes sense in principle — just not at any price.
Whether this gets resolved before the Premier League season opens against Bournemouth on 23 August remains to be seen. For now, the ball sits with Spurs, and there is no obvious sign of either side blinking.