Tottenham Finalizes £75m Deal for Savinho as De Zerbi Focuses on Team's Identity
Tottenham’s spending spree is about to get even louder. The club have struck an agreement to sign winger Savinho from Manchester City in a deal worth £75million, with a further £10m in potential add-ons, as they close in on one of the most eye-catching moves of the summer window.
And they are not stopping there. Spurs are also targeting Savinho’s City team-mate Omar Marmoush, with the recruitment drive in north London showing no sign of slowing under Roberto De Zerbi.
Record-smashing window
Savinho’s arrival would push Tottenham’s summer outlay beyond the £300m mark, a staggering figure that underlines the scale of the rebuild. They have already twice broken their transfer record in this window alone: first with the £85m signing of Mateus Fernandes, then with Sandro Tonali’s £100m switch from Newcastle.
Big names. Big numbers. Big expectations.
De Zerbi, though, refused to get carried away when asked directly about Brazil international Savinho.
“It is not right to speak about players until they are official,” he said. “Just to say, I am very happy. We have not finished yet in the transfer market. It is an important part.
“So far, we have had a great [summer for] signings. Great players and personalities. But you don’t win the game with big-name players. We have to deserve to win games.”
The message was clear: the chequebook alone will not drag Spurs where they want to go.
De Zerbi’s Spurs: three intense months
De Zerbi only arrived in March, parachuted into a club staring nervously at the relegation trapdoor. He steered them clear on the final day of the season and, in the process, reset the mood around Tottenham.
“It feels like I’ve been here ten years, but just three months,” he admitted. “Three very intense months. We can’t forget what happened last season. It’s a big lesson for us. We are building a big project.”
The Italian spoke with the air of a man who knows the scale of the job. Survival was the short-term fix. The real work, he insists, is only just beginning.
He also highlighted the unity behind the scenes as the club reshape the squad.
“We are working very well with Johan Lange, with Vinai [Venkatesham], and with Nick [Beucher] — with the whole board,” De Zerbi said, underlining the joined-up approach driving this aggressive window.
‘Find the soul of the team’
For all the money spent, De Zerbi framed Tottenham’s summer around two challenges that have nothing to do with fees or headlines.
“Now the big challenge — the first two targets — we are very clear in ourselves, is to find the soul of the team,” he said. “The second target is to improve in our organisation of football, with the ball and without the ball.
“Our style has to be the key of our season. These two characteristics I want to find as soon as possible.”
That is the crux of his project. The signings – Savinho, Fernandes, Tonali and whoever follows – are tools. The identity comes next.
Tottenham have thrown their weight behind De Zerbi’s vision. The squad is being rebuilt at pace. The spending is eye-watering.
Now the question hangs over north London: can he turn this lavishly assembled group into a side with a soul sharp enough to match the scale of the investment?
