There has been a lot of excitement surrounding Savinho’s move to Manchester City this summer.
Sky Sports pundit Terry Gibson lauded Savinho as a player with “fantastic quality” and a signing City supporters should be looking forward to seeing in action.
Bernardo Silva praised Savinho after his cameo after the Sky Blues’ win against Manchester United in the FA Community Shield — expressing that he is “very happy” that he joined the English giants.
With the Brazilian also looking direct and fearless against United, he seems like a player who will get fans off their seats during the upcoming season.
At 20, the sky is the limit for Manchester City’s latest recruit.
- Who is Savinho? The ‘special’ starlet who tore up La Liga and is Man City’s first transfer of the summer
Guardiola reveals key Savinho quality that may have led to Man City move
Considering how young and talented Savinho is, several clubs around Europe would likely have considered making a move for him after the brilliant season he had enjoyed in a Girona shirt.
The former Troyes winger looks like one of the most gifted young forwards in the game, having already emerged as one of La Liga’s best players last season while also being capped for Brazil’s senior side.
It seems likely that City were impressed by all of the aforementioned factors when striking a £33.6 million (£21 million and £12.6 million in add-ons) deal for the prodigious wideman.
However, Pep Guardiola has revealed that the number of games Savinho can play in a short space of time is also one of the factors that prompted Manchester City to sign him.
Guardiola said via BeanymanSports: “I know, can play every three, four days, [this] is one of the details we always take a look at. You know, how reliable a player can be to play every three or four days so the ones who cannot play in big, big teams because the demand is like that, play every three, four days.”
“I have the feeling that he’s so strong to play regularly, so that’s why, a lot of games, a lot of minutes.”
Savinho could get a lot of minutes due to his reliability
Joining a well-oiled machine like Manchester City, it is a challenge for players who sign for the club to become regular starters.
The likes of Bernardo Silva (15 games), Riyad Mahrez (14 games) and Joao Cancelo (13 games) all started under 20 Premier League games in their debut campaigns at City.
However, with the 2024/2025 Champions League format set to include more games as well as City set to compete across other fronts as well, Pep Guardiola could hand Savinho more chances than expected due to his durability while also being able to gauge how he progresses game by game.
With the 32-team FIFA Club World Cup also set to be played next year, Guardiola will keep the fitness of his side in mind during the upcoming season and the highly-rated youngster’s reliability could mean he plays quite regularly during his debut campaign.
