Savinho shares new training message as Man City head off to Club World Cup
Manchester City’s players have been given no off-season respite with their Club World Cup campaign on the horizon.
A poor 2024–25 season by Man City‘s standards still isn’t over yet as Pep Guardiola‘s side prepare for the first edition of FIFA’s new summer tournament, in which they’ll face Wydad AC, Al Ain and Juventus.
The Club World Cup gives Guardiola an opportunity to lift silverware once again after he and City went without a trophy for the first time since 2016–17, as a result of their FA Cup final defeat to Crystal Palace.
A third-placed Premier League finish ensured that despite a disappointing season on all fronts, City will play Champions League football again next term and preparations are already underway for the summer.
Savinho ‘a work in progress’ amid Man City preparations
City’s huge outlay in the January transfer window saw them spend over £175million on the likes of Omar Marmoush, Nico Gonzalez, Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis, but this came after a very quiet summer.
Divin Mubama, Ilkay Gundogan and Savinho were the only players to join City in last summer’s transfer window for a combined £23m, the vast majority of which went on the Brazilian from Troyes in Ligue 2.
Savinho’s debut season at the Etihad Stadium has been productive with two goals and 12 assists in his 45 appearances across all competitions, and the 21-year-old has kept up that intensity in the off-season.
Savinho shared a post on his Instagram story (3 June) from Man City’s Brazil-based physio Wagner Ferreira, who filmed the winger undergoing a gym session with the message: “Work in progress”.
Savinho set for increased Man City influence next season
Savinho’s performances on both flanks were a huge plus point against the backdrop of a below-par campaign overall for City this term, and he could be set for even more game-time after this summer.
Of Guardiola’s current options out wide, there are huge doubts over the futures of Jack Grealish, Bernardo Silva and James McAtee as all three attract attention from Premier League and European clubs.
A proposed swap deal involving McAtee and Grealish could take the duo to the City Ground in exchange for Morgan Gibbs-White, and with the Nottingham Forest star a strictly central player, Savinho’s starting place on the wings may soon be secure.