Savio has won 13 caps for Brazil, scoring one goal. "Wishing you all the best, Savinho," wrote Manchester City on social media platform X. "Welcome to Tottenham, Savio," announced Spurs.

The 22-year-old Brazil winger has joined the Londoners for an initial fee of £75m - and a new start has come with a new name. Or, should we say, his actual name. In 2024 he said his national team put Savinho on his shirt, and he asked City to keep it for luck when he moved there in 2024. But now the attacker, whose full name is Savio Moreira de Oliveira, has reverted back and will be known as Savio on his number 17 shirt, not Savinho.

He has signed a long-term contract, with Roberto de Zerbi's side potentially paying a further £10m in add-ons. Savio's move to north London has been more than 12 months in the making, with Spurs failing in a bid to sign him last summer when Thomas Frank was in charge. He opted to remain at Etihad Stadium, but his game time was limited under former City boss Pep Guardiola last term, making just seven Premier League starts.

"It's taken a while but I'm very happy to be here," said Savio, who has 13 caps for his country but was not part of their World Cup squad. "It's a wonderful opportunity at a brilliant club with one of the best managers in the world. As soon as I spoke to the head coach I knew I had to come. He told me he wants to help me reach the highest level, and I believe we can do that together, as a team."

Savio joined City from French side Troyes in a £30.8m deal two years ago and made 84 appearances, scoring seven goals and providing 16 assists. His arrival at Spurs follows those of Mateus Fernandes from West Ham, Sandro Tonali from Newcastle, and Jan Paul van Hecke from Brighton this summer, with spending reaching a combined £312m.

Spurs have also brought in defenders Marcos Senesi and Andy Robertson, and goalkeeper Martin Dubravka, on free transfers. "Savio is a player who brings energy, imagination and quality in wide positions. He has the courage to attack defenders and the ability to change a game with his creativity," added De Zerbi.

Spurs are also in advanced talks to buy Egypt forward Omar Marmoush from City, and sources with knowledge of the situation say there is a "good chance" the deal gets completed before the 1 September transfer deadline.

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Savio's involvement for City fell sharply last season after the club signed winger Antoine Semenyo from Bournemouth in January. He played 821 Premier League minutes, scoring once and providing one assist, while featuring in only 31% of City's available minutes across all competitions. That was a significant drop from the previous campaign, when he played 54% of City's minutes.

Yet his 2024-25 numbers show why Tottenham are prepared to invest heavily in him. Savio registered eight Premier League assists that season, all from open play, despite playing only 1,773 minutes. Only five players recorded more from open play. On a per-90 basis, he ranked third for open-play assists with 0.41, while only Mohamed Salah created more chances per 90 than Savio's 2.2.

His biggest threat, though, came from carrying the ball. Among Premier League players with at least 1,000 minutes in 2024-25, only Jeremy Doku averaged more progressive carries of at least 10 metres than Savio's 6.8 per 90 minutes. Savio also led the division for carries followed by a chance created, averaging 1.3 per 90, while only Son Heung-min ended a carry with an assist more frequently.

Savio also completed 2.6 dribbles per 90 with a 51% success rate and used those carries to draw defenders towards him before releasing team-mates. That ability was even more evident during his breakout 2023-24 season on loan at Girona. Savio played 2,989 minutes in La Liga in 2023-24, with 65% of them coming on the left wing. He scored nine goals, supplied eight assists and established himself as one of the division's most dangerous one-against-one players.

At City his role shifted. Across his two Premier League seasons, his most common position was on the right, accounting for 36% of his minutes, compared with 20% on the left. That versatility could matter at Spurs.

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