Manchester City have pre-agreed a summer deal - but it won't sit well with fans from around the continent
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Manchester City have agreed a deal to sign highly-rated winger Savio in the summer, though the move isn't without controversy.
With Jack Grealish, Jeremey Doku and Oscar Bobb all available on the wings for Pep Guardiola, Manchester City have already promised the Catalan boss reinforcements ahead of next season in the form of the Brazilian.
That's even despite the winter transfer window having closing last week, with Manchester City managing to pre-agree the transfer of Savio due to them controversially taking advantage of their multi-club, City Football Group (CFG), ownership.
New York City are among a number of clubs owned by CFG (Image credit: Getty Images)
Currently on loan at CFG-owned Girona, Savio's registration is actually held by Troyes, another side which falls under the CFG umbrella. The 19-year-old joined the French side in 2022 for a club-record deal, but supporters of the French side have never actually watched their record signing play.
Indeed, Savio spent last season on loan at PSV before joining high-flying Girona for this term. Troyes, though, are in danger of suffering back-to-back relegations as they sit a precarious 15th in Ligue 2.
And it seems Savio won't play a single minute for Troyes at all, with Manchester City agreeing a deal to sign him in the summer. While his contract with the French side expires in June 2027, City are set to take him for their own first team in the summer.
Savio is set to join Manchester City (Image credit: Getty Images)
While his Troyes contract expires in June 2027, Manchester City are still set to take the winger for their first team in the upcoming summer, though the agreed fee hasn't yet been disclosed. Reports suggest that Savio was the subject of £25m bids from Premier League and Bundesliga teams in January.
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Manchester City made the decision to bring Savio to the Etihad Stadium during internal discussions in December 2023, but wanted him to continue his progress at Girona in La Liga. So far this term he has managed five goals and seven assists in 23 games - something Troyes could have done with but what Manchester City will ultimately see the benefit of.
Ryan is a staff writer for FourFourTwo, joining the team full-time in October 2022. He first joined Future in December 2020, working across FourFourTwo, Golf Monthly, Rugby World and Advnture's websites, before eventually earning himself a position with FourFourTwo permanently. After graduating from Cardiff University with a degree in Journalism and Communications, Ryan earned a NCTJ qualification to further develop as a writer while a Trainee News Writer at Future.
