Tottenham Hotspur saw a glimpse of Savio for the first time on Wednesday night in the Second Round of the League Cup, and what they saw against Charlton Athletic had to impressive them deeply. Savio looked absolutely unplayable, and even against second tier opposition, what he did off the bench in creating two goals from pretty much nothing got every Spurs supporter to believe in what could be ahead for both him and the team.
With his former teammate from Manchester City Omar Marmoush arriving to join the attack and either Cody Gakpo or even Iliman Ndiaye from the Merseyside potentially on their way, too, Roberto De Zerbi has a full gamut of attacking options at his disposal.
But the one with the highest upside is likely Savio, a 22 year old who was competing at the top of the La Liga table against Real Madrid just two to three years ago. Although he did not start regularly for Manchester City and barely scored, De Zerbi has placed a goal on his head that he gets to 10-15 goals in a Premier League season so that this Tottenham Hotspur side finally has the attacking fire power to truly compete with the other Big Six clubs at the Champions League level.
Wingers like Savio are always valuable, even if they aren't scoring
Savio offers so much more than goals, obviously, and the goals were really the only thing holding him back from being rated higher. Even at Manchester City, Savio was underrated, and you could see his quality in the Champions League when he would come off the bench and provide a major spark with his quality on the ball, including against the very same Real Madrid he would often come up against in the Spanish top flight.
Tottenham will appreciate Savio even more when they compare him to Brennan Johnson, the young winger they sold to Crystal Palace in the last winter transfer window. Johnson was a player who could bring goals to the table and poach them as effectively as many Premier League strikers, but he was just so awful at everything else. He could not take his man on, he could not create chances, and he just had no spark, progression, or athleticism to get up and down the pitch.
Savio is the total opposite, and while Mohammed Kudus was the immediate replacement for Johnson on the right wing last season, there is the potential for Savio to usurp Kudus or to simply stay on the left wing as a more traditional winger, especially if Roberto De Zerbi cannot get his hands on Cody Gakpo. Even in that role, where Savio cannot score as many goals as a left footed left winger, there should be a deep appreciation for him and a big impact from him, and if Spurs ever fail to consider what a winger like Savio can bring to the table with his dribbling spark and explosiveness, all they have to do is look at what Brennan Johnson has done since leaving Tottenham.
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