Manchester City will reportedly not be loaning out a player who is set to join the club very soon.
It has been a quiet summer so far at the Etihad Stadium.
A number of players are currently on international duty at Euro 2024 and the Copa America, and City have not yet brought any players in.
July is likely to be a bit more interesting though, as players return to their clubs for pre-season.
Pep Guardiola is keen to prepare his squad to go in pursuit of a fifth straight Premier League title, and there has been a report today about the future of one player who isn’t actually a City player just yet.
Savio to be a Manchester City player for 2024/25, after loan claim
It was reported earlier this year that Manchester City had reached an agreement to bring in Brazilian winger Savio from Troyes this summer.
Savio has just finished a tremendous season on loan at Girona, helping the Spanish side to finish third in La Liga and qualify for next season’s Champions League.
The deal is done, with official confirmation from City expected very soon.
Over the last few weeks and months, there has been speculation as to whether City will actually keep hold of Savio for the 2024/25 season. It has also been suggested the club could loan him out, with Girona potentially poised to take him back.
But SPORT have reported today that there is ‘no chance’ of Girona getting Savio on loan.
That is because City have decided to keep the player for 2024/25 and use him for the first-team.
Initially, Girona were very optimistic about getting him back, and the probability of him returning was ‘quite high’. But City were left impressed by Savio in the second half of last season especially.
The player – who recently scored his first goal for Brazil against Paraguay at the Copa America – will apparently be going on City’s pre-season tour of the US, and then be sticking with Pep and his first-team squad.
An exciting update
We will see if SPORT’s claim about Savio rings true, but it is exciting to think that the winger could be sticking around at City.
The 20-year-old – described earlier this year by BTL as ‘a creative winger’ and a ‘good finisher’ – was such a livewire last season for Girona, who may not have sealed Champions League football without his 21 contributions.
He has seemingly forced City officials to perform a U-turn, with the expectation initially that he would be heading straight out on loan.
It sounds as though his performances in 2024 were enough to convince people that he is ready to be used in the first-team now. Hopefully, if he is kept, then he can enjoy a similar sort of first season to what Jeremy Doku did.
He came in as a raw winger, and blew fans away with his direct style of play and fearlessness.