Savinho's Absence Casts Doubt on Manchester City Plans for Community Shield
Enzo Maresca’s plans for his first piece of silverware as Manchester City manager have taken an untimely knock, with Savinho missing training ahead of the Community Shield clash with Arsenal.
City are tuning up for the traditional curtain-raiser at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, but they may have to do it without the 22-year-old Brazilian. As reported by The Athletic’s Sam Lee, Savinho sat out the latest session at the City Football Academy due to illness, casting late doubt over his involvement against Mikel Arteta’s side.
While one winger stayed indoors, several headline names were very much on show.
Jack Grealish trained as he pushes to finally pull on a City shirt again after more than a year sidelined by injury problems. His presence was a notable boost, and he was joined by Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku and January signing Marc Guehi, all driving their case to start against Arsenal this weekend.
The timing of Savinho’s absence is impossible to ignore. Interest from north London is intensifying, and not from the red half.
Roberto De Zerbi is closing in on his primary attacking target, with Tottenham understood to be nearing a full agreement for the £60 million-rated forward. Spurs want him badly, and they are acting like it.
After back-to-back 17th-place finishes in the Premier League, Tottenham have ripped up the script this summer. The rebuild has been bold, expensive and unapologetically aggressive as they try to haul themselves back toward the top end of the table.
They started by fortifying the back line. Martin Dubravka, Andy Robertson, Marcos Senesi and Jan Paul van Hecke all arrived to reshape a defence that had creaked for too long. Then came the thunderbolt in midfield: a combined £185 million splashed on Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes, a double signing designed to change the entire feel of De Zerbi’s engine room.
Now the spotlight is on the final third. One last big piece.
To clear the way for Savinho and any other attacking arrival, Spurs are preparing to cash in on major assets. Cristian Romero is close to sealing a move to Atletico Madrid, while full-back Djed Spence is set for a switch to Inter. Those departures are expected to open up the financial space needed to seriously challenge City’s resolve.
That, of course, is the crux. The Etihad hierarchy will not be easy to shift. Selling a highly rated 22-year-old to a direct domestic rival, without a replacement lined up, is not the sort of decision they take lightly.
Tottenham know they might need a Plan B.
If prising Savinho out of Manchester proves too complex, Spurs have already lined up alternative elite targets. High on that list is Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo, a player admired at Hotspur Way for his versatility and end product. Any move there, though, is even more tangled.
Journalist Ben Jacobs has outlined Liverpool’s stance: they are reluctant to let Gakpo go unless they first secure multiple attacking reinforcements of their own. That stance turns negotiations into a late-window puzzle with moving pieces at several clubs.
The clock is ticking toward the transfer deadline and Tottenham still have one box left to tick in their summer overhaul. Whether De Zerbi gets his man in Savinho or is forced to pivot toward Gakpo or another marquee option, Spurs have made one thing crystal clear: the attacking rebuild will not be left half-finished.
