The reality of modern-day football is that when a small team achieves something near-impossible, it inevitably means their players will soon be hoovered up by the giants. So it is with Savinho (£6.5m), who joins Manchester City.
On loan at Girona, the winger helped them reach the Champions League having been promoted just two seasons prior. Pep Guardiola’s side has purchased him for an initial £21m that could reach £30m.
So can the 20-year-old regularly break into their line-up and what impact will he have in Fantasy Premier League (FPL)?
We’ll take a look during this Scout Report piece, including data and images from our Premium Members Area.
THE HISTORY
Savio Moreira de Oliveira was born in São Mateus, the Brazilian countryside, on April 10, 2004. Having netted four times to help Brazil win 2019’s South American under-15 Championship, his professional Atletico Mineiro debut arrived in September 2020 when aged 16. He became their youngest-ever league player in doing so.
A Copa Libertadores goal in May 2022 got supporters excited yet, a month later, he had gone. His destination: French club Troyes.
| SEASON | CLUB | DIVISION | STARTS (SUB) | GOALS | ASSISTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023/24 | Girona (loan) | La Liga | 35 (2) | 9 | 10 |
| 2022/23 | PSV Eindhoven (loan) | Eredivisie | 0 (6) | 0 | 2 |
| 2022/23 | Jong PSV (loan) | Eerste Divisie | 9 (0) | 2 | 2 |
| 2022 | Atletico Mineiro | Brazilian Serie A | 2 (6) | 1 | 0 |
However, while they were getting relegated to the Ligue 2, Savio – his shirt name at the time – was on loan at PSV Eindhoven.
The teenager struggled for game time and usually alternated between the reserves and a hamstring issue. But things really took off once he returned to Troyes and moved to fellow City Football Group side Girona.
Incredibly, the minnows led La Liga after Gameweek 17 and were still in the dizzying heights of second place after beating Barcelona in Gameweek 34. Savio’s left-wing work combined brilliantly with Artem Dovbyk, Viktor Tsygankov and Miguel Gutierrez. The wunderkind grabbed 19 attacking returns on his way to inclusion in the league’s official Team of the Season.
By finishing third, the Catalonian outfit achieved their first-ever European qualification.
Now Dovbyk is seemingly on his way to Atletico Madrid. Aleix Garcia has joined Bayer Leverkusen. Eric Garcia’s loan has ended. Tsygankov is being linked to various sides. And now, of course, Savio has sealed his probably predetermined move to Man City.
Troyes’ biggest signing and record sale has never played for them.
As for being referred to as Savinho, that was due to an administrative error before debuting for Brazil’s senior squad. Ahead of May’s 1-0 win over England, the national federation registered him as this instead of Savio.
Now up to seven caps and one Copa America goal versus Paraguay, he likes the change and is proceeding with that.
PLAYING STYLE
Girona boss Michael hasn’t been afraid to compare him with world-class talents, declaring that he “hadn’t seen anyone so effective in one-on-one situations since Vinicius Jr emerged.”
That’s because Savinho is an outstanding dribbler, constantly bamboozling full-backs with his pace and quick feet. It often wins free kicks.
“My playing style is that of a Brazilian who likes to take on opponents, to be joyful, play joyful football with one-on-ones, providing assists, defending too, and anything I can to help the team. My main characteristic, which I like the most, is taking on opponents, being happy and getting the crowd on their feet.” – Savinho, to the Man City website
Anyone enthralled by Nico Williams throughout Euro 2024 will be excited to see that Savinho was the sole La Liga player to attempt more take-ons (236) and be successful with them (104) during the latest campaign.
Above: 2023/24 La Liga players sorted by most successful dribbles, from FBref.com
When comparing with the Premier League, nobody exceeded his 236 attempted take-ons and only Mohammed Kudus (£6.5m) succeeded more often (124).
New Man City team-mate Jeremy Doku (£6.5m) fared well, however, considering ‘Pep Roulette’ restricted the Belgian’s game time. His minutes per take-on (9.32 v 12.61) and per successful one (18.10 v 28.62) are better rates than Savinho’s.
Interestingly, Opta adds to the Williams similarities, also noting a resemblance to Callum Hudson-Odoi (£5.5m).
Above: Opta’s visual representation of Savinho’s playing style and strengths
In the Spanish top flight, it was just Lamine Yamal and Rodrygo with more touches in the attacking third (878). But, understandably, Savinho’s daring style of play lost possession fairly often.
A favoured trick of his is to completely slow down, bringing the full-back to a standstill, before bursting past with his rapid pace and creating a chance.
What takes him to the next level is his level of end product, which was pivotal in Girona’s miracle. Not only did he score 20% of goal attempts but the 44.4% rate of shots being on target is approximately the same as top scorers Dovbyk and Alexander Sorloth. It’s ahead of Robert Lewandowski but behind Alvaro Morata.
Savinho’s nine goals vastly exceeded his 6.1 expected goals (xG) and the 9.9 expected assists (xA) ranked first in La Liga, with 60 passes into the penalty area coming second overall.
WHERE SAVINHO FITS IN AT MAN CITY
A versatile left-footer, it’s intriguing to see that – despite excelling for Girona as a traditional winger – he still sees himself as a right-sided attacker.
“My favourite position? I really like playing on the left and right, but I can also play in the middle. [If I had to choose], I really prefer to play on the right wing. But whatever the coach decides, I will help the team.” – Savinho to the Man City website
Similar to one of his favourite players Riyad Mahrez, then. That’s why he inherits the Algerian’s number 26 shirt at the Etihad Stadium.
Electrifying one-on-one players like he and Doku are certainly in vogue, emphasised during Spain’s Euro 2024 victory. As football’s usual trend-setter, new boss Pep saw it coming from afar and has spoken this week about how he intends to use Savinho.
“The impact he did in Girona was absolutely amazing. I think Michel, the manager, has done an absolutely incredible job with him. He can play on both sides, left-winger, right-winger, can even play in the middle. But we need [him] more especially on the wings. His one-against-one is devastating.” – Pep Guardiola
The impact on Phil Foden (£9.5m) is worth monitoring, too. Will we see more of the England international in the middle this season, with another wide-midfield option arriving?
IS SAVINHO WORTH BUYING IN FPL?
If on the left, Savinho is competing with Doku and Jack Grealish (£6.5m). When right-sided, there’s Bernardo Silva (£6.5m) and Oscar Bobb (£5.0m). Either flank for Foden too, on top of his preferred number 10 role.
So he’s a massive rotation risk and not in the initial thoughts of FPL managers. Should someone depart or Savinho shine, then he’ll become more of a realistic asset to own.
Fixture-wise, the Gameweek 2 hosting of Ipswich Town is extremely appealing but Guardiola’s troops are actually fourth-worst on our Season Ticker over the first eight Gameweeks.
Then again, as English champions for four consecutive seasons, they are surely seen as fixture-proof.
With this in mind, Savinho’s speedy progression could soon force our FPL attention. Just like he enjoyed clipping in crosses for Dovbyk to head home, Erling Haaland (£15.0m) could now be the beneficiary. The latter is FPL’s most expensive individual of all time but, when feasting, he’ll remain very tough to ignore.
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