The 2023-2024 season has witnessed one of the biggest surprises named Girona. The Estadi Montilivi team has become Real Madrid's biggest rival in the La Liga championship race for most of the campaign. Despite the lack of success in the final stages, Michel's team still ranked 3rd overall and won a ticket to the Champions League. Notably, Savinho became the biggest bright spot alongside Artem Dovbyk.
With his rise, the Brazilian star helped Girona reach new heights in his first season in the league. The striker born in 2004 contributed 9 goals and 10 assists in 37 matches in La Liga. With impressive performances, Savinho became the most sought-after name in the summer of 2024.
Man City took the initiative and spent 40 million Euros to own the 20-year-old star. In the Premier League and under Pep Guardiola, Savinho promises to become a rising star at the Etihad. With a speed tournament in the foggy country, the Brazilian striker has enough quality to meet this requirement.
In the past season, Girona was not strong in counter-attacking ability. However, Savinho's quick attacks on the pitch helped Michel's side escape the difficult situation many times. In particular, what Savinho can do in tight spaces and one-on-one situations will become an advantage at Man City.
From a very difficult position to handle, Savinho can still overcome and very few full-backs catch up with the Brazilian star. He was especially effective in harassing the opponent's defense with passes and launching cross lines. This shows why the 20-year-old talent topped the creative metrics in La Liga last season. Although he is only 4th in the assist rankings, his expected assist index is 9.9 (highest in the tournament).
Savinho is a left-footed left winger. This makes him unique at a time when teams tend to use opposite players. In addition, this style of play helps the Brazilian star feel comfortable when holding the ball on the wing and stretching the opponent's defense. todayy Sane is one of the few to do so. The German striker has scored or assisted many times in his 4 years at Man City.
In fact, there have been only two players who have touched the ball in the final third of the pitch more than Savinho in La Liga in the 2023-24 season. Meanwhile, the star born in 2004 has made more dribbles than anyone else. For a young player with limited experience in the top league, Savinho's confidence is extremely impressive.
In addition, the former Girona player could also play on the opposite side. This role was shown by Savinho to the Brazilian national team at Copa America 2024. The Man City rookie scored his first international goal of his career against Paraguay and created a bench influence against Costa Rica (5 successful dribbles and 7 dribbles into the penalty area in 20 minutes of play).
With his potential, Savinho promises to bring fresh diversity to Pep Guardiola's squad. Although the Brazilian star will have to compete for a position with Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku, he will certainly become a formidable player when integrating into a Man City possession control system.