Doku ruled out for up to three weeks as City prepare to sell Savinho to Spurs for £85m

Jeremy Doku will miss Manchester City’s Premier League opener against Bournemouth on Sunday after sustaining a calf injury during the first half of last weekend’s Community Shield defeat to Arsenal, manager Enzo Maresca confirmed at his Friday press conference.

The 24-year-old Belgium international faces up to three weeks on the sidelines, though Maresca stressed the rest of his squad is fully fit for the visit of the Cherries. “At the moment the only one out is Jeremy Doku,” Maresca said. “Unfortunately in the last game, at half-time, he was complaining about a little bit of pain in his calf. The idea with him was to play 45 minutes anyway, so the change was planned, but at the moment it looks like two or three weeks, no more than that.”

Doku’s absence arrives as City prepare to offload two forwards before the transfer window shuts. Tottenham have agreed an £85m fee for Savinho — a basic £75m plus £10m in add-ons, of which £5m is guaranteed — making the Brazilian City’s club-record sale and pushing Spurs’ total summer spending past £300m.

Savinho will become one of Tottenham’s three most expensive signings in their history, joining Mateus Fernandes (£85m from West Ham) and Sandro Tonali (£100m from Newcastle) as the headline arrivals under new head coach Roberto De Zerbi. Spurs have also paid Brighton £52m for defender Jan Paul van Hecke and added free transfers Martin Dubravka, Andy Robertson and Marcos Senesi.

For City, the deal represents a substantial profit. Savinho arrived from sister club Troyes for £30.8m in 2024 — having never played for the French side — after helping fellow City Football Group club Girona qualify for the Champions League during a loan spell in Spain. He scored seven goals in 84 appearances for City overall, but managed only two Premier League strikes and lost his starting berth following January signing Antoine Semenyo’s arrival.

Omar Marmoush, who cost City £59m in January 2025 but struggled for regular game time, is also attracting interest from Spurs. Should that deal materialise, Tottenham’s outlay this summer could approach £400m.