The Brazil international has put pen to paper on a new deal that ties him to the Etihad for the next six years. The winger was heavily linked with a potential summer move to Tottenham Hotspur, but City went to great lengths to ensure he stayed at the club. Now, he has committed his future, and is likely to be properly reintegrated into Pep Guardiola’s squad; he has only made two starts thus far this season, with one coming in the Premier League against Burnley and the other against Huddersfield Town in the EFL Cup. Savinho scored in the latter game as City won 2-0.
The attacker has revealed his delight at putting pen to paper as he bids to become indispensable under manager Pep Guardiola.
He said: “I am incredibly proud to be able to sign this new contract with City. It’s a very special feeling to know that Pep and the Club have placed such faith in me. It really means a lot to me and my family.
“I feel I have so much improving to do – I am still young and very hungry to keep learning. But I know that working with Pep and his staff will help me to keep developing as a player.
“From the moment I first arrived, I have loved my time at City. Everyone at the Club – and our fantastic fans – have made me feel so welcome and at home here in Manchester.
“I want to thank everyone here for their help so far and I promise that I will give everything to try and help this amazing club achieve more success.”
City’s director of football, Hugo Viana, said: “Savinho is still very young, but he has already demonstrated that he possesses the qualities needed to become a truly outstanding player.
“He has so many excellent attributes. His potential really is limitless. He has superb natural ability, works incredibly hard day in, day out, and he is humble. He is very eager to keep learning and help the team, and his ambition is to be one of the best attacking players in the game.
“I have no doubt that by continuing to work with Pep and his coaching team, Savinho will go on to be a key part of our squad for many years to come.”
The forward has only won the Community Shield during his time at City and has set his sights on lifting trophies with his team-mates.
He added, when asked about the club’s fans: “They treat me really well. Whenever I’m with my family in the city centre or shopping, I see some fans and they treat me really well. At the stadium too, they treat me really well. I’m very happy when I score goals. When they chant my name, I’m really happy, it moves me a lot, and the message I want to give them is to thank them for all the support they give me and my family.
“Fans always give us presents — for my daughter and my wife as well. I hope we can be very happy here at Manchester City and win many trophies. They can expect lots of joy on the pitch, goals, assists. I will give my best to help Manchester City win trophies, which is the most important thing. I hope to put my name in the Club’s history by winning trophies. So I hope to do that together with my teammates and finish the season with lots of silverware.”
City face Brentford this weekend as they bid to build on a morale-boosting result last time out; they thumped Burnley 5-1 in their last league outing, and now sit seventh in the Premier League table, five points behind leaders Liverpool.
