PSG & Madrid want him: Pep facing Alvarez repeat with Man City “superstar”
It already appears set to be a busy January transfer window for Manchester City.
The Sky Blues are on the brink of completing three signings, reportedly set to bring in Abdukodir Khusanov, Vitor Reis and Omar Marmoush.
Meantime, Kyle Walker is reportedly on his way to AC Milan, having submitted a transfer request over the weekend.
The rebuild is firmly underway for the four-in-a-row Premier League champions, who currently sit eighth in the table, with Pep Guardiola even having admitted his side are “at risk” of missing out on Champions League qualification, a spending spree this threat surely addresses.
However, could the Citizens’ sole senior summer signing be on the move again already?
Man City attacker wanted by Euro giants
According to a report by Caught Offside, both Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain are interested in signing Savinho, with los Blancos poised to “test the waters” by submitting a January offer.
They claim both the LaLiga and Ligue 1 champions “sent scouts” to watch the Brazilian winger at the King Power Stadium just after Christmas, with Savinho, belatedly, scoring his first goal for Man City that afternoon during a 2-0 victory over Leicester.
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Savinho joined Manchester City for a reported £33.7m last summer from within the City Football Group; those must’ve been tough negotiations.
He technically arrived from Ligue 2 side Troyes, joining them from Atlético Mineiro for a club-record €6.5m, although he’s never played for Troyes and there’s actually no evidence he ever set foot in France at all.
That’s because Troyes are owned by the City Football Group, as are Girona, where Savinho shone on loan in LaLiga last season, so his move to Man City had been in the pipeline for a while.
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Earlier this season, Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson stated he believes Savinho will go on to be a “superstar”, adding that he hasn’t “seen anything like him for a long time”.
Meantime, Guardiola praised his “incredible ability and quality” following that aforementioned win at Leicester, suggesting they’re not planning to let him go easily.
Why Real Madrid are interested in Savinho
Last season, Savinho was, unquestionably, one of the best players in La Liga, staring for Girona as Blanquivermells qualified for UEFA competition for the first time ever, their third-place finish getting this tiny Catalan club into the Champions League.
So, let’s compare how good Savinho was last season in relation to this.
Of course, the Brazilian was significantly more effective in front of goal last term; only 19 players scored more than his nine LaLiga goals, while his non-penalty goals – xG figure of 2.9 ranked tenth in Spain’s top-flight.
In contrast, this season, the winger ranks 493rd, out of 505, for goals – xG in the Premier League, meaning only 12 players in the division have been more wasteful in front of goal so far.
Nevertheless, some of Savinho’s other key metrics have improved, namely touches per game, take-on success % and pass completion % while, halfway through this season, he’s on course to register exponentially more shot-creating actions and progressive carries.
This, given that the Brazilian is still only 20-years-old, Man City should do everything in their power to keep hold of him.
After all, they should use the events of last summer as a warning when the Sky Blues allowed Julián Álvarez to join Atlético Madrid, albeit for a gigantic £81.5m fee.
Considering the ageing nature of Guaridola’s squad and their performances in 2024/25, they may be regretting that decision, considering the Argentine forward has scored 13 goals this season, with los Colchoneros now top of La Liga, having won 14 successive matches in all competitions for the first time in the club’s entire history.
Thus, even if cross-city rivals Real Madrid come in with a similarly extortionate offer for Savinho, one can’t see Man City making the same mistake twice.
