Tottenham Hotspur managed to sign one difference-maker to their attack earlier in the transfer window, as former rival forward Mohammed Kudus has already proven to be arguably THE key man in the post-Son Heung-min era with two Man of the Match caliber displays against the mighty PSG and the not-so-mighty Burnley.
Aside from Kudus, the only other move Tottenham made to their attack this summer was bringing in Mathys Tel from Bayern Munich on a permanent basis after the backup left winger helped them win the Europa League last season.
Tottenham obviously need more than that, as their blown lead against PSG highlighted, and in addition to going hard after a new No. 10 in light of James Maddison's torn ACL, Spurs have also been pushing for one more high impact winger to join forces with Kudus.
The focus has been on Savinho of Manchester CIty, but Tottenham have suddenly found it difficult to bring the Brazilian international in. Eberechi Eze's signing has been easier, since Crystal Palace are close to signing his replacement, Bilal El Khannouss of Leicester CIty.
Tottenham need their transfer partner to find a replacement
However, Manchester CIty's dream replacement appears to be off the table. Even though Rodrygo Goes started the first Real Madrid game of the 2025/26 La Liga season off the bench against Osasuna - and never even came on as a substitute - the slipping forward has still maintained his loyalty to the Royal Whites of Spain.
According to a repot from Sky Sports Switzerland's Sacha Tavolieri, Rodrygo has never formally asked Real Madrid for a transfer, and because he's not leaving the Spanish capital, Pep Guardiola doesn't have a shot at bringing him in to replace Savinho. Therefore, Savinho is expected to stay with Manchester City.
There are differing reports on why Savinho to Tottenham has been so slow to happen, but the most logical explanation right now is that Manchester City don't have a replacement. Just as the Eze to Tottenham move can be facilitated easily now that Palace are on track to sign El Khannouss, the opposite is true for Savinho, hence why those talks have slowed.
Tottenham were actually linked with Rodrygo earlier in the window, but given his expected cost of at least 100 million euros as a proven two-time winner of the Champions League - and crucial in both Real Madrid triumphs - Spurs were never expected to be major players for him.
But now, Rodrygo is complicating a different Brazilian winger transfer Tottenham want in order to make a big splash this window. That said, Rodrygo isn't the only fish in the sea, and Manchester City could find another target they want, even if it isn't Guardiola's dream get. Savinho isn't impossible, from that standpoint, but Rodrygo still wanting to give it a go in Madrid is probably the biggest reason why there's new pessimism around a Savinho deal for Spurs.