Savinho's Absence Impacts Manchester City Ahead of Community Shield
Enzo Maresca’s plans for his first piece of silverware as Manchester City boss have hit an untimely snag.
Savinho, one of the most intriguing attacking options in his squad, was absent from City’s latest training session ahead of the Community Shield showdown with Arsenal at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff. The 22-year-old Brazilian missed the workout through illness, according to The Athletic’s Sam Lee, leaving his involvement in the traditional curtain-raiser in doubt just days before kick-off.
City gear up – but one eye on Savinho
While Savinho stayed away, there was no shortage of star power at the City Football Academy.
Jack Grealish trained as he pushes for what would be his first appearance for the club in over a year after a grim run of injuries. Erling Haaland and Jeremy Doku were both involved, sharpening up for a meeting with an Arsenal side desperate to lay down an early marker. January signing Marc Guehi was also in the thick of it, fighting for a place in Maresca’s first competitive XI.
City’s attacking depth is usually a comfort. Right now, it feels more like a transfer battleground.
Savinho’s absence comes just as the noise around his future reaches a new pitch. Tottenham, led by Roberto De Zerbi, are closing in on what has long been described as their primary attacking target, with a deal for the £60 million-rated winger edging towards full agreement.
Tottenham’s ruthless rebuild
Spurs have spent the summer acting like a club tired of irrelevance.
After back-to-back 17th-place finishes in the Premier League, the mood at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has turned ruthless. The first half of the window was about securing the foundations: Martin Dubravka, Andy Robertson, Marcos Senesi and Jan Paul van Hecke arrived to reshape the back line.
Then came the statement in midfield. Tottenham dropped a combined £185 million on Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes, a double move that underlined just how serious the hierarchy are about dragging the club back toward the top end of the table.
Now the gaze has shifted to the final third. That is where Savinho comes in.
The recruitment drive has been aggressive, but it needs funding. High-profile exits are being lined up to clear the path for one more big attacking swing.
Cristian Romero is on the verge of joining Atletico Madrid. Djed Spence is set for a switch to Inter. Those deals are expected to open up the financial room required for Spurs to go hard at City and test how much the champions really want to keep a player who is yet to become central to Maresca’s plans.
City, though, are under no pressure to sell. And selling to a direct domestic rival, without a ready-made replacement, is never an easy call.
Plan B: Cody Gakpo on the radar
Tottenham know that. Which is why Savinho is not their only elite option.
Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo has been earmarked as an alternative target, a player highly admired at Hotspur Way for his versatility across the front line. Any move there, though, is tangled in complications.
Journalist Ben Jacobs has outlined Liverpool’s stance: they do not want to lose Gakpo unless they can bring in multiple attacking reinforcements first. With the clock ticking on the window, that is a big condition.
So Spurs wait, and work. One eye on Manchester, one on Merseyside, and both on the calendar.
One last swing before the window shuts
The equation for Tottenham is brutally simple now. They have rebuilt the back, retooled the middle, and thrown their weight behind De Zerbi. There is one box left to tick.
Secure Savinho from City, or pivot decisively to Gakpo and try to prise him away from Liverpool.
As City prepare for Arsenal in Cardiff with a slightly thinner wing contingent than Maresca would like, Spurs are preparing their final punch of the summer. The only question left is whose shirt their marquee forward signing will be pulling on when the season explodes into life.
