What’s in a name? Quite a bit, judging by the discussion at Roberto De Zerbi’s Tottenham press conference on Tuesday, shortly after the club had completed the £75m signing of Savinho from Manchester City and the Brazil winger had let everybody know that he wanted to be called Sávio from now on. He will have that name on his Spurs shirt above his No 17, which he has taken over from Cristian Romero, the former captain who has moved to Atlético Madrid.
The 22-year-old went by Sávio at various times before his two seasons at City but there was nonetheless speculation about the reasons for the reversion. Savinho translates roughly from the Portuguese as “little Sávio”. Was it him saying that he was now an older and more mature player?
On the subject of theories, there is one about the fee, which could rise to £85m in add-ons. Even at £75m, it represents a record sale for City, who paid £30.8m to take Sávio from Troyes. Spurs are pushing to sign another attacker from City – Omar Marmoush, whose previous club Eintracht Frankfurt have a sell-on clause. Are Spurs paying more for Sávio in order to pay potentially less to City for Marmoush, which could reduce the liabilities to Eintracht?
De Zerbi has plenty on his plate after Spurs’ dismal 3-0 defeat at Brentford on Saturday in their Premier League opener and before the Carabao Cup tie at home against Charlton on Wednesday night.
“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.”
De Zerbi said the talks for Sávio had started three days after the end of last season. It has been a mini‑epic to get the deal over the line but well worth it, according to the Spurs manager, who rates Sávio as one of the best in the world for being able to get past his marker when one‑against‑one. The challenge for Sávio will be to improve his end product, particularly in terms of goals. He scored only seven for City in all competitions and only two in 53 Premier League appearances. Sávio is available for selection against Charlton, his paperwork having been completed in time.
De Zerbi did get around to accepting that Sávio’s rebrand was part of a fresh start for the player. What is not in doubt is Spurs’ need for one after Brentford, when all the excitement around a summer of heavy spending turned to frustration; a very familiar sinking feeling.
It is possible to explain away the shambles against Brentford, who were not only much more joined-up but appeared to want it more in the duels. De Zerbi has attempted to do so in that way beloved of managers, emphasising he is not making excuses, you understand, just stating facts.
He had a completely new back four compared with his preferred unit from the end of last season; a new midfield pair, too. Up front from right to left, Mikey Moore, Richarlison and Mathys Tel were nobody’s idea of a trio to drive the push for Champions League football. De Zerbi was missing a host of players because of fitness issues, including Pedro Porro, Micky van de Ven, Mateus Fernandes and Dominic Solanke. Some of the issues can be traced to the slog of a pre-season tour to New Zealand and Australia, which De Zerbi continues to reference in irritated tones.
These facts do not really wash. The performance against Brentford was unacceptable. There is the sense that it will work out for Spurs, mainly because they have De Zerbi and a collection of Premier League‑ready new signings. They have certainly put themselves under pressure for the visit of Charlton. A relevant statistic: Spurs have won one domestic home game in 2026 – against Everton on the final day of last season which enabled them to avoid relegation.
De Zerbi made the point that he and the squad had “started the project right now, not last season”. Which was when he was parachuted in with seven games to go; he picked up 11 points to dodge the unthinkable. “Last season, we fought to stay up,” he said. The inference was that it would take rather more to become a proper team.
On the other hand, the experiences of the previous campaign do offer reassurance. “Maybe last season was a tougher challenge to stay up than this season,” De Zerbi 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.”
What De Zerbi craves is consistency, which he defined as being five wins in a row. It seems a distant goal after Brentford but De Zerbi has faith. What it will take is a change to the collective mentality. “We have to get used to winning games and games and games – we have to change habits from the last two seasons,” he said.
“For me, the Carabao Cup is like the Premier League. We are not in the condition to make differences [between the competitions]. We have to play well and get used to winning – and winning matches, not a match. We have to change the mood. And we can.”
De Zerbi said that Porro and Van de Ven will return as substitutes against Charlton and Solanke may start. James Maddison is out for two weeks with a shoulder injury suffered against Brentford. De Zerbi has a decision to make on Sávio. Victory is non-negotiable.
