Tottenham Hotspur have been strongly interested in signing Savinho for more than a year, and while there has been a lot of optimism that the Lilywhites can finally strike a deal for the Brazilian international this summer transfer window, talks have been slow to progress with Manchester City failing to give their Big Six counterparts the green light, perhaps because they are waiting to sign a replacement.
At least, that was the running narrative last year when Man City held onto Savinho, though they did sign Antoine Semenyo in the winter, played him over Savinho, and still aren't willing to sell the former Girona star to Spurs this summer.
That could be changing soon with more optimism that Spurs are closing in on Savinho, who is quietly pushing harder to exit the Etihad for a more key role with Tottenham. According to ESPN Brasil and other sources, Tottenham could sign Savinho for a fee in the neighborhood of 70 million pounds.
Savinho is more about the upgrade than the cost
For a player who was not exactly important to Manchester City last season and barely scores goals, that seems like overpay, and there are Spurs fans who are concerned about spending 70 million pounds on Savinho, wanting instead to pay something closer to the 50 million pound mark for a guy who was essentially a backup player for City.
But just as Tottenham Hotspur supporters were quick to defend Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali from criticisms from rival fanbases who called them overpays at 85 and 100 million pounds, respectively, they, too, will have to see Savinho under a lens other than cost.
Because for years under Daniel Levy, Tottenham did not sign top players like their Big Six counterpats because their club's policy was optimized for profitability under a venture capitalist mind set. Their goal was to see players as an investment by which to make a future profit, rather than signing the best possible players to win more games, and that's why Levy and Spurs conditioned their fans to see everyone as value chips to buy and sell, thus avoiding signing potential needle movers in the table that will be costly gambles.
Savinho is like signing Sandro Tonali or Mateus Fernandes on the wings, except we all know forwards are even more expensive than midfielders. While 70 million pounds is a lot of money, compared to other talented wingers at top clubs, Savinho is reasonably priced, and, more to the point, Tottenham fans need to be thinking about the upgrade, potential, and need, rather than balking at the price tag in a vacuum. Because, well, it's not like Spurs have a lot of better options for the cost available to sign on the wings either.
Add us as a preferred source on Google