Tottenham Nears Savinho Signing as De Zerbi's Key Target
Tottenham are edging towards the signing that would define their summer: Savinho, the Manchester City winger who sits at the very top of Roberto De Zerbi’s attacking wishlist.
The deal is not done yet, but the direction of travel is clear. Talks between Spurs and City are described as advanced, with a full agreement believed to be close for a fee in the region of £60 million. For a player City have been reluctant to lose without a replacement lined up, that figure underlines how determined Tottenham are to get this over the line.
This is not a late whim. Savinho has been a long-term target in North London, a name that has survived every internal debate and every scouting report. Other forwards have been discussed, Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo among them, yet each time De Zerbi has steered the conversation back to the Brazilian. This is his man.
A summer of heavy spending
Tottenham have not exactly tiptoed through this window. The arrivals of Sandro Tonali, Matheus Fernandes and Jan Paul van Hecke have already signalled a club willing to back their new head coach aggressively. Around £230 million has been committed so far, a figure that would swell towards an eye-watering £300m once Savinho walks through the door.
That level of outlay changes the tone of a season. It turns promise into expectation. It turns “project” into “prove it”.
For De Zerbi, it would mean immediate scrutiny. A squad reshaped to this extent, at this cost, is not built to drift around the fringes of the European places. It is built to shove its way into the Premier League’s inner circle and stay there.
Savinho at the centre of the plan
Transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano has made it clear where Savinho sits in Tottenham’s strategy. Speaking about the negotiations, he underlined that there is no Plan B of equal weight.
“The priority, the number one, two, and three target remains Savinho, and I think at the end of the summer transfer window, Savinho has very, very good chances to join Tottenham. So I don’t expect any surprises here,” Romano said.
That kind of language is rare in a market that usually deals in caveats and conditions. It tells you how far down the road this has gone and how aligned the club are behind the move.
The final obstacle
One problem remains, and it is a familiar one when dealing with Manchester City: timing.
City will not sign off on Savinho’s departure until they have secured a replacement of their own. That has slowed the process, forcing Spurs into an uncomfortable waiting game just as they would like to present their new winger as the emblem of a new era.
For now, Tottenham wait. The framework of a £60m transfer is there, the player sits at the heart of De Zerbi’s vision, and the club’s spending is poised to smash through another barrier.
If City finally find their man, Tottenham will get theirs. And then the real question arrives: after a summer like this, how far can De Zerbi take them?
