Spurs take outlay to £320m with Savinho deal but still aren’t England’s biggest spenders
Tottenham Hotspur have taken their summer spending past the £300m mark by completing the signing of winger Savinho from Manchester City.
The Brazilian is the fourth player to join Spurs for a fee of more than £50m since the end of last season, following Sandro Tonali, Mateus Fernandes and Jan Paul van Hecke.
They have also signed Marcos Senesi, Andy Robertson and Martin Dubravka on free transfers and are expected to land Omar Marmoush, also from City, before next week’s deadline.
Tottenham Hotspur have thrown money at their rebuilding project, having finished just one place above the Premier League’s relegation zone in the past two seasons.
They have also made Roberto de Zerbi one of football’s highest paid managers – a last roll of the dice towards the end of last season that helped them avoid relegation.
Savinho credited De Zerbi with persuading him to move to north London after two mixed seasons at City and fourth with the wider City Football Group network.
“It’s taken a while but I’m very happy to be here,” said the 22-year-old, who now wishes to be known as Savio.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity at a brilliant club with one of the best managers in the world.
“As soon as I spoke to the head coach I knew I had to come. He told me he wants to help me reach the highest level, and I believe we can do that together, as a team.”
Tottenham spending trails Chelsea splurge
The club’s extraordinary spending is reflected in the fact that all three of the most expensive signings – £100m Tonali, £85m Fernandes and Savio – have all arrived this summer.
Only Chelsea, whose £117m deal for Morgan Rogers set a new record for an English player, have spent more in this window, which closes on Tuesday 1 September.
Despite that investment, Spurs began the new Premier League campaign with a disappointing 3-0 defeat at Brentford on Saturday.
“Savio is a player who brings energy, imagination and quality in wide positions,” said De Zerbi. “He has the courage to attack defenders and the ability to change a game with his creativity.
“We’re very pleased to have him with us, and I’m looking forward to working with him, helping him continue to grow and seeing him bring his personality to the team.”