Pep Guardiola describes Manchester City’s £33.6m summer signing Savio as ‘devastating’ following his arrival from French club Troyes.
Pep Guardiola has described Manchester City summer signing Savio as ‘devastating’ following his arrival from sister club Troyes.
The 20-year-old – also known as Savinho – was officially unveiled as the Citizens’ first new signing ahead of the 2024-25 campaign last week, penning a five-year contract and joining for an initial £21m that could rise to £33.6m with add-ons.
Savio enjoyed a successful season-long loan spell at fellow City Football Group outfit Girona in 2023-24, scoring nine goals and providing 10 assists in 37 La Liga appearances to help the Spanish club secure a surprise top-three finish and qualify for next season’s Champions League.
The winger’s impressive form for Girona was rewarded with his first senior international cap for Brazil in March, making his debut at Wembley Stadium in a 1-0 victory over England.
Savio was also part of Brazil’s squad for the 2024 Copa America and scored his first goal for his country in a 4-1 win over Paraguay, before A Selecao were eliminated in the quarter-finals.
— Manchester City (@ManCity) July 18, 2024
Guardiola: ‘Savio addition was necessary’
The youngster is now ready to embark on a new challenge at Man City and Guardiola has given the lowdown on what Citizens supporters can expect from the highly-rated winger.
Speaking about Savio at a press conference ahead of City’s friendly against Celtic in North Carolina on Wednesday, Guardiola said: “His impact at Girona was absolutely amazing.
“[Girona manager] Michel did an incredible job. He can play on the wing, and when he is one-v-one, he is devastating. He is young and to bring in one or two players to keep things fresh, it is necessary.”
On Man City’s transfer business, Guardiola added: “We cannot change six or seven (players in the transfer window) – it is impossible, it is unsustainable – we have to be smart.
“Many players want to come here but we didn’t get agreements from the clubs and when they ask so, so high price we don’t do it.
© Reuters
“We cannot forget [Savio] is playing for the national team in Brazil – and he can play both sides which there are few [players capable]. We can use him in two positions. We are very happy to have him.
“We say thank you to Girona because without the job of the manager there it is impossible to bring him here.”
Savio, who is set to compete with Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku for a place in Man City’s starting lineup, is yet to link up with his new teammates on the club’s pre-season tour of the United States, but he is expected to join up with Guardiola’s squad, along with a number of other senior stars, for the second half of their tour.
Kevin De Bruyne is another who will be a late arrival to City’s squad and despite reported interest from Saudi Arabia, the playmaker will stay with the Premier League champions next season, according to Guardiola.