Manchester City have completed the signing of Brazilian winger Savinho from French side Troyes in a deal worth 40m euros (£30.8m).
The Cityzens have been very quiet in the transfer window so far but have now stuck their first deal of the summer, with Savinho signing a deal that will keep him at the Etihad until 2029.
The 20-year-old enjoyed a successful loan spell at Girona last season, helping the Catalonia club finish third and qualify for the Champions League for the first time in their history. The Brazilian scored eleven goals and contributed ten assists for the Catalonia club.
Savinho started his career at Brazilian side Atletico Mineiro before joining Troyes in the summer of 2022. However, he never played a competitive game for the Ligue 2 side, as he was sent on loan to PSV Eindhoven for the 2022-23 season. He went to Girona the next season, but returned to Troyes at the end of last season. He will now join up with Pep Guardiola’s men ahead of the 2024/25 Premier League season. Both Girona and Troyes are part of the City Football Group.
WHAT SAVINHO HAS SAID
Speaking to the City’s media crew, Savinho, who is also known as Savio, revealed he is excited to work with Pep Guardiola.
“I am very happy and proud of myself and of my family, who are out there for helping me get here,” Savinho said in his first interview as a City player.
“I have to thank God as well for giving me this opportunity to be here at Manchester City. I am very happy. I still can’t believe I’m here, but with time, it will sink in.
“What I am experiencing here, I just arrived and I turned to my representative and my stepfather and said that it would be impossible to turn down Manchester City.
“And they were showing me what the training centre was like, what the club’s structure was like.”
The Brazilian will wear the number 26 shirt, following in the footsteps of former City winger Riyad Mahrez, one of his footballing idols.
It’s a joyful game. It’s a game that I usually say is a true game, a beautiful game,” Savinho added.
“And I want to start training to adapt to Manchester City’s football.
“I think that since I was little since I was at Atletico Mineiro, I watched Manchester City games.
“I have a friend whose dream was for me to become a Manchester City player.
“We used to play video games together, and he always played as Manchester City. I played with other teams, and he said that his dream was for me to one day join Manchester City and that I had the potential to get there.”
WHAT TOP SIX FOOTBALL THINKS
City have once again proved how shrewd they can be in the transfer market, getting a talented young player for a relatively low sum.
However, it remains to be seen whether Savinho will succeed at City, as Guardiola has an abundance of attacking players to choose from. The new signing will battle for a place in the City attack with Jeremy Doku, Jack Grealish, Phil Foden and Julian Alvarez.
