Tottenham have agreed a deal worth up to £85m with Manchester City for Savinho, and are still working on a separate one for Omar Marmoush worth around £75m. Savinho is set for a medical. Together the two deals come to roughly £160m for a pair of forwards who could not hold down a place in City's team.
The initial fee for Savinho is £75m, with £10m in add-ons of which £5m is understood to be effectively guaranteed, so City should bank at least £80m. It ends a pursuit that dates back to last summer, when Spurs tried and the player chose to stay and fight for a starting shirt at City instead.
The problem being solved
Tottenham finished 17th last season, on 41 points, with a goal difference of minus nine and 48 goals in 38 games. It was their second consecutive 17th-place finish and safety was not settled until the final day. Roberto De Zerbi has been saying since July that the attack was the thing that needed fixing. "The target now is to complete the attacking positions," he said before a pre-season game against Auckland FC. "We want the first target, the first level, because anyway we are already important players, but I think to start the new project we need another couple of important players, for sure."