Fresh from a miserable Gameweek 1 defeat at Brentford, Tottenham Hotspur have secured the eventual signing of inside-forward Savinho (£6.5m) – someone who’d now like to be known as Savio.
Manchester City will receive an eye-watering fee of £75m, rising to £85m, as Spurs continue their high-spending summer.
So, have they wasted money on the 22-year-old, or can he become a good FPL asset?
We’ll attempt to answer those questions below.
CAREER SO FAR
Savio Moreira de Oliveira’s 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.
However, while they were getting relegated to Ligue 2, Savinho was on loan at PSV Eindhoven. The teenager struggled for game time, but things really took off once he returned to Troyes and moved to fellow City Football Group side Girona.
| STARTS (SUB) | GOALS | ASSISTS | FPL POINTS | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025/26 | Manchester City | Premier League | 7 (17) | 1 | 2 | 43 |
| 2024/25 | Manchester City | Premier League | 21 (8) | 1 | 11 | 106 |
| 2023/24 | Girona (loan) | La Liga | 35 (2) | 9 | 10 | – |
Incredibly, the minnows led La Liga after Gameweek 17 and were still at the dizzying heights of second place after beating Barcelona in Gameweek 34. Savinho grabbed 19 attacking returns on his way to inclusion in the league’s official Team of the Season.
By finishing third, the Catalan outfit achieved their first-ever European qualification, reaching the top-tier Champions League.
At that point, Savio graduated to Man City, meaning Troyes’ biggest signing and record £30.8m sale never actually played for them.
He was a fairly regular starter in 2024/25, though league appearances averaged just 61.9 minutes. It peaked in Gameweeks 19 and 20, following 14 points versus Leicester City with three assists against West Ham United.
In fact, the 13-cap Brazilian international then set up a goal in each of his next three matches, ending the FPL season joint-fourth for them overall (11). Impressive, considering his lack of minutes.
What let Savio down was his finishing. Scoring only once, despite 5.01 expected goals (xG, below), made him 2024/25’s biggest underachiever.
Last season, he barely featured, starting merely three league games from Gameweek 10 onwards. Antoine Semenyo‘s (£8.5m) January arrival didn’t exactly help.
REASONS FOR OPTIMISM?
So this move is Savio’s chance to become a key Premier League player, instead of a bit-part one.
He feels wanted at Spurs, who’ve chased him for a while but failed to complete a deal last summer. And the two-footer is exactly what they need: an outstanding dribbler who can bamboozle full-backs in tight spaces.
Above: Team set-piece stats for 2025/26
His acceleration and quick feet when cutting inside often wins fouls. In the last campaign, Spurs ranked joint-third for set-piece goals (19), so usual taker Pedro Porro (£5.5m) could benefit massively. Down the right, these two could cause damage to opponents.
“Savio is a player who brings energy, imagination and quality in wide positions. He has the courage to attack defenders and the ability to change a game with his creativity.” – Roberto De Zerbi
In our 2024 ‘new signing’ article, we pointed out that a favoured trick of Savio’s is to completely slow down, bring the full-back to a standstill, before bursting past him with his rapid pace and inevitably creating a chance.
WHERE SAVIO FITS IN AT SPURS
Although his brilliant Girona season came from the left wing, Savio prefers being on the right.
Decimated by injuries over the last year or so, Spurs had to put Mikey Moore (£5.0m) out there at Brentford. The teenager earned his place by netting twice in the Hoffenheim friendly, but Savio will likely go straight into the Spurs XI.
Once Mohammed Kudus (£6.5m) is ready to start – he’s close – there’ll be some competition for that spot, especially with no European football workload to split. But the Ghanaian has been injured since January, so he shouldn’t be a short-term worry.
“In terms of one-to-one, he’s one of the best players. He can play in the right side, in the left side. I know him from a long time, in Brighton, I spoke with him before he went to City. He’s a big player for us, a big signing.” – Roberto De Zerbi
SHOULD SAVIO BE AN FPL TARGET?
Two Premier League goals in two years isn’t great, and we’ve already mentioned his poor finishing data. So, if Savio learns how to aim shots into the corners and away from goalkeepers, he could become of interest to FPL managers.
But until Spurs’ attack becomes convincing, it’s easy to file him under ‘wait and see’.
Perhaps an answer will become clear by Gameweek 7, when fixtures swing positively.
