Savinho absent from City squad as £85m Spurs move edges closer, Marmoush still involved

Savinho was absent from Manchester City’s matchday squad for their Premier League fixture against Bournemouth, with the Brazilian winger on the verge of completing an £85m move to Tottenham Hotspur. Omar Marmoush, a separate Spurs transfer target, was named in Enzo Maresca’s squad alongside Nico Gonzalez.

The deal for Savinho would push Tottenham’s summer spending beyond £300m, coming days after they were beaten 3-0 by Brentford. Head coach Roberto De Zerbi was candid about the club’s readiness, admitting his side are behind schedule ahead of the new Premier League season.

“I believe in my players, my club and myself. I think we are working well but we are late for the start of the Premier League,” De Zerbi said. “It’s a step we have to improve quickly. We could fight stronger than we did today and we lost too many duels. The target is to become a team. To find the spirit, the soul, is a process.”

Gonzalez has been linked with a move to Newcastle United, who are seeking an experienced central midfielder. Rico Lewis, despite reported interest from other clubs, starts for City in midfield alongside new signing Elliot Anderson and Nico O’Reilly.

Maresca, meanwhile, acknowledged the scale of City’s summer turnover. The club have already lost Rodri, Bernardo Silva, Tijjani Reijnders, John Stones and Nathan Ake following Pep Guardiola’s departure, and are separately reported to have agreed an £85m fee for Lille midfielder Ayoub Bouaddi while continuing to be linked with Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez.

“They all want to play, and when they don’t play they would prefer to leave,” Maresca said of his departing players. “It’s always complicated when someone leaves and someone else arrives, but for sure we will need more options if players go out. If some leave, some must arrive. I’m not worried or concerned. Since day one we have known exactly what we need. There are 10 or 11 days to go and many things can happen.”