Tottenham Targets Savinho for £65m Transfer from Manchester City

Tottenham Hotspur are moving back into Manchester City’s transfer lane, and this time they look determined to stay there.

A year after seeing a bold move for Savinho rebuffed, Spurs are now in the final stretch of negotiations to prise the Brazilian winger away from the Etihad in a deal expected to reach around £65million, according to reports in England.

City, sensing the endgame, have already started plotting life without him.

From rejection to £65m deal

Tottenham first tried to land Savinho last summer, when they made contact and were prepared to go as high as £60m. City’s answer was clear: not for sale.

At that point, the Premier League champions had even toyed with the idea of replacing him with another Brazilian, Real Madrid’s Rodrygo, but nothing advanced on either front. Savinho stayed. Rodrygo stayed. The window closed and the story seemed to die.

Inside the Etihad, Pep Guardiola continued to use the 22-year-old sparingly. The winger, who believed he was being underused, still chose to commit his future to City with a new six-year contract. That deal looked like the final word.

It wasn’t. It was a pause.

Speculation cooled briefly, then Tottenham circled again in recent months, encouraged by Savinho’s desire for a more central role and a more prominent stage. North London, not Manchester, began to look like the place where he could be a guaranteed headline act rather than a supporting cameo.

Romano clears the noise

On Thursday, Fabrizio Romano cut through one swirl of rumour to underline where Tottenham’s focus really lies. Talk had emerged of Spurs turning to Napoli youngster Antonio Vergara, but Romano dismissed that outright.

He stated that Vergara is signing a new contract at Napoli with an improved salary and stressed that the Italian was “never a target” for Tottenham, even when his name first surfaced at the end of May and into June.

The message was blunt: ignore the noise, keep your eyes on Savinho.

According to Romano, the Brazilian remains Tottenham’s number one target for the winger position. The club’s energy, and their money, are being pointed in that direction.

City move for Mbaye as Savinho sale looms

As Spurs edge closer to the finish line, Manchester City have started to adjust their own plans.

The Daily Mail’s Simon Jones reports that City are now targeting Paris Saint-Germain’s 18-year-old winger Ibrahim Mbaye as they prepare to close Savinho’s sale to Tottenham for around £65m.

Jones writes that City, Aston Villa, Tottenham and RB Leipzig are among the clubs tracking Mbaye, who caught the eye with Senegal at the World Cup. The teenager is understood to be ready to leave PSG this summer, wary of slipping further down the pecking order and keen for regular first-team football.

Mbaye is now represented by Jorge Mendes, a detail that usually signals a serious shop window. For City, he is one of several wide options under consideration after last year’s enquiry for Rodrygo at Real Madrid came to nothing.

The logic is clear. As Savinho heads towards Ange Postecoglou’s project, City are looking to reload out wide with younger, hungry talent.

Spurs choose Savinho over Leao and Gakpo

Tottenham’s pursuit of a winger has not been short on big names. Cody Gakpo and Rafael Leao have both been on the radar.

Liverpool, though, shut the door on Gakpo this week. They have no intention of weakening their own wide options; they want to add around him, not sell him.

Leao, meanwhile, has been a more realistic possibility. On July 5, it emerged that the AC Milan star had given the green light to a potential move to Spurs in a deal worth around €50m (£42m). For many clubs, that would be the dream scenario: a marquee forward, prime age, at a relatively modest fee in today’s market.

Tottenham have looked at that, weighed it, and still appear ready to go harder for Savinho at £65m.

That choice says plenty about the profile Postecoglou and the recruitment team want. Savinho offers raw pace, one‑v‑one threat and the kind of vertical, aggressive wing play that fits the Australian’s front‑foot blueprint. He wants to be a leading man. Spurs are offering him the stage.

The deal is expected to move quickly. Savinho wants the transfer, is prepared to agree personal terms, and both clubs now have clear replacement plans in motion.

If Tottenham get this over the line, they won’t just be signing a winger. They’ll be making a statement about the type of team they intend to be in the next phase of Postecoglou’s rebuild – and about how willing they are to pay for the exact profile they believe in.