Since Riyad Mahrez’s departure in the summer of 2023, Manchester City have found it a difficult task to replace him.
While Mahrez was not a regular starter in his final season at the club, City missed the presence of a natural right-winger such as him during the previous campaign.
Ultimately, Manchester City won the Premier League — despite failing to replace the Al-Ahli wideman.
Pep Guardiola fielded the likes of Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden and Jeremy Doku on the right flank to make up for his absence.
The £378,846-a-week man tasked Kyle Walker to play in a more advanced role for much of the season either.
Most of Guardiola’s solutions to compromise for Mahrez’s absence did not work as well as he might wished to.
Richards compares Savinho to player Man City let go in 2023
However, the brilliance of the likes of Foden and Erling Haaland in attack played a key role in City winning the league.
While Rodri’s all-encompassing displays throughout the campaign, Kevin De Bruyne’s heroic return and Doku’s liveliness were other factors going forward that gave the Sky Blues the edge over Arsenal.
But this summer, City decided to address the gaping hole in their squad on the right flank by bringing in Savinho from ESTAC Troyes to essentially succeed Mahrez.
The Brazilian international’s career at the Etihad Stadium has started brilliantly — with him standing out aaginst both Ipswich Town and Chelsea in both of his starts.
So much so that Micah Richards has gone as far as to liken Savinho to Mahrez.
The pundit initially said on The Rest Is Football podcast: “You know what I like about the most is he’s fearless. A lot of people talk about Man City and they’ve got this, in inverted commas, algorithm, like a computer. Everyone knows the position but he just does his own thing.”
Micah Richards not only compared Savinho to Mahrez but also Leroy Sane, saying: “He goes inside, he goes outside, similar to [Riyad] Mahrez or [Leroy] Sane when he played on that side and he’s not afraid to lose it when he’s dribbling.”
Richards continued: “Okay, Pep [Guardiola] will pull him up on that if he continues to do that or every time he attacks but he’s just got that burst of pace along with technique.”
“And you know when you go in to City, sometimes, when they just pass you off it, it’s difficult to sometimes be excited and that’s why the fans love when [Jack] Grealish plays or [Jeremy] Doku plays and Savinho as well, he just lifts the whole crowd.”
Recently, even Riyad Mahrez suggested Savinho plays just like him on social media.
- Who is Savinho? The ‘special’ starlet who tore up La Liga and is Man City’s first transfer of the summer
Where Savinho is different to Riyad Mahrez
Stylistically, Savinho and Mahrez have a similar grace, penchant for beating their man and wand of a left foot.
But the 20-year-old perhaps lacks the Algerian legend’s incredible creativity, even though he certainly has an eye for a pass.
Furthermore, Mahrez perhaps always lacked Savinho’s raw pace and be as much as a threat in transition.
The former Leicester City winger had a burst of pace but the latter seems to get quicker over large distances — making him tailor-made for counter-attacking situations.
Nonetheless, Savinho will be flattered by Micah Richards’ claim.
