De Zerbi welcomes Sávio’s arrival as Spurs seek reset after Brentford defeat

On Tuesday at his Tottenham press conference, head coach Roberto De Zerbi confirmed the club had completed the £75m signing of Savinho from Manchester City and said the Brazil winger will be known as Sávio and wear the No 17 shirt.

The No 17 was vacated by Cristian Romero, who has moved to Atlético Madrid, and De Zerbi revealed talks for Sávio began three days after the end of last season; the transfer fee could rise to £85m in add-ons and Manchester City originally paid £30.8m to sign him from Troyes.

De Zerbi addressed the name change directly: “Listen, I lost 3-0 in the first game in the Premier League … do you think for me it’s a problem if Savinho becomes Sávio?” he said, turning to face his interpreter. “If Enrico [the interpreter] becomes Savinho, it’s a problem. If Savinho stays Sávio, nothing changes for me.” He also accepted the rebrand forms part of a fresh start for the player and said Sávio is available for selection against Charlton after his paperwork was completed in time.

The manager rated Sávio highly for his one‑on‑one ability, calling him “one of the best in the world for being able to get past his marker when one‑against‑one,” while noting the player must improve his end product—he scored seven times for City in all competitions and only two in 53 Premier League appearances.

The club is also pursuing another attacker from City, Omar Marmoush, and the article raised the question of whether Spurs are structuring the Sávio deal to influence any future Marmoush transaction given Eintracht Frankfurt hold a sell‑on clause from Marmoush’s previous move.

De Zerbi faces immediate pressure after Tottenham’s 3-0 defeat at Brentford in the Premier League opener on Saturday and ahead of the Carabao Cup tie at home against Charlton on Wednesday; he pointed to a largely unfamiliar defensive and midfield setup in that game and to missing players through fitness issues, naming Pedro Porro, Micky van de Ven, Mateus Fernandes and Dominic Solanke.

Reflecting on last season and his short-term arrival, De Zerbi said: “Last season, we fought to stay up.” He added: “Maybe last season was a tougher challenge to stay up than this season,” and said: “I said to the players: last season, in a worse situation, we showed character, we showed balls. We showed pride and quality. Now we have to stay calm and to analyse better the situation – not to have an emotional reaction. We have to be intelligent.” He set consistency as a target, defining it as five wins in a row, and said: “We have to get used to winning games and games and games – we have to change habits from the last two seasons.”

Spurs have won one domestic home game in 2026 — against Everton on the final day of last season which enabled them to avoid relegation — and De Zerbi reminded reporters he was parachuted in with seven games to go, picking up 11 points to avoid the club’s then‑immediate peril.

Porro and Van de Ven are expected to return as substitutes against Charlton, Solanke may start, James Maddison is out for two weeks with a shoulder injury suffered against Brentford, De Zerbi still has a decision to make over Sávio’s involvement, and the manager made clear the outcome he expects: victory is non‑negotiable.