Tottenham Nears Deal for Savinho as City Eyes PSG's Mbaye

Tottenham Hotspur are moving into the final stages of a deal for Manchester City winger Savinho, with the Premier League champions already identifying Paris Saint-Germain prospect Ibrahim Mbaye as a potential replacement.

This is not a move born overnight. Spurs first pushed hard for Savinho last summer, even floating a £60million offer. City refused to bite. They had no intention of cashing in on the Brazilian and, at one stage, even explored the idea of bringing in Real Madrid’s Rodrygo to reshape their attack. Neither transfer progressed. Everyone stayed put.

Savinho, frustrated by his lack of minutes under Pep Guardiola and tempted by the promise of a central role in north London, still chose to sign a new six-year contract at the Etihad. That decision briefly killed the noise. The winger was locked in, City had their man, and Tottenham were forced to look elsewhere.

The quiet didn’t last.

Spurs revived their interest in recent months and have steadily worked their way back to the front of the queue. On Thursday, transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano underlined where Tottenham’s focus lies, dismissing talk of a move for Napoli’s Antonio Vergara and making it clear Savinho is the name at the top of their list.

Romano stressed that Vergara is signing a new deal at Napoli, complete with a pay rise, and that he has never been a genuine Tottenham target despite repeated rumours. The message was blunt: ignore the noise, the winger Ange Postecoglou wants is Savinho.

Now, according to the Daily Mail’s Simon Jones, Spurs are edging towards the finish line. The fee has risen. Tottenham are understood to be closing on an agreement worth around £65m, with Savinho keen on the switch and ready to sort personal terms. The groundwork laid last year is finally paying off.

City, for their part, are already plotting the next move out wide. Jones reports that Manchester City, Aston Villa, Tottenham and RB Leipzig are among the clubs tracking PSG winger Ibrahim Mbaye. The 18-year-old, who caught the eye with Senegal at the World Cup, is prepared to leave the French champions this summer as his path to regular first-team football narrows.

Mbaye is now represented by Jorge Mendes, a development that will only sharpen interest across Europe. For City, he is one of the options being assessed as they prepare to sanction Savinho’s sale to Spurs for that £65m figure. Their long-standing enquiry for Rodrygo at Real Madrid remains part of the wider picture, but not the only line they are exploring.

Tottenham’s wing rebuild has not been short on alternative names. Cody Gakpo and Rafael Leao have both been discussed. Liverpool shut the door on Gakpo on Wednesday, making it clear he will not be sold this summer as they look to deepen, not thin, their own wide options.

Leao, meanwhile, has been more than just a passing link. On July 5 it emerged that the AC Milan star had given the green light to a potential move to Spurs in a deal worth around €50m (£42m). On paper, that represents a cheaper route to an elite wide forward.

And yet Tottenham are pushing their chips towards Savinho.

That choice says plenty about the profile Postecoglou and the club’s recruitment team want to build around: younger, explosive, with upside to grow in value and influence. It also underlines how far Spurs are prepared to go to land their priority target, even when more economical, high-profile alternatives are within reach.

If the final details fall into place as expected, Savinho will arrive in north London with a hefty price tag, unfinished business from his time at City, and a manager ready to hand him the stage he felt he never truly had at the Etihad. The only question now is how quickly Tottenham can turn that promise into production on the pitch.