1 week ago
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Savinho was one of many who failed to impress in the Champions League defeat to Bayer Leverkusen but the Manchester City man has struggled for large parts of this season.
Plenty of Manchester City players' stock went up by not starting in midweek. Ten changes contributed to a drab performance and a dire defeat to Bayer Leverkusen as the Blues suffered a Champions League setback.
None of the starters staked their claim for more regular involvement and it felt the latest in a line of such showings from Savinho. The 21-year-old was wanted by Tottenham in the summer, then picked up a mysterious injury that ruled him out of any games during the transfer window, and posted pictures of packed suitcases on his social media, none of which created a positive impression with the City fanbase.
Ultimately he stayed put at the Etihad and was then handed a bumper new City contract in a significant show of support by the club's hierarchy. But, after a bright showing in Spain against Villarreal last month, there has been precious little from the Brazilian in recent weeks.
He was poor off the bench at Newcastle United, spurning a late chance, and was peripheral in midweek. Speaking on this week's Talking City podcast, recorded ahead of the game against Leverkusen, the winger was a topic of debate.
Tyrone Marshall
"He is maddeningly inconsistent. He seemed to get a lot of criticism on Saturday and it was a bad cameo. But there has got to be more there. He clearly fluttered his eyelashes at Tottenham in the summer and was clearly interested in making that move.
"City always say they won't stand in a player's way if they want to go. I don't get the impression that City were that keen on selling him. They did shut it down reasonably early and then he got a new contract after one average season, I would say.
"That performance at Villarreal he was brilliant, and you thought he was stepping it up and was going to be the player City need him to be and he just can't put it together.
"Pep has gone to this system where he is only playing one winger, if that, at the moment, and it makes it harder for Savinho to get in the team. If you are going to play one player who is going to go wide it is going to be Doku at the moment.
"Savinho didn't do a lot last season and then was at least very open to the idea of going, and then got rewarded with a new contract. He is having too many games where he is stinking the place out."
Alex James
"The decision to give him a new contract, that seemed mad. He had four years left on his old contract, he had done okay last season and is only 21. I found that bizarre, he isn't a player where there is interest from someone else that means 'we better tie him down to a long term contract'. He hasn't become that player yet. That decision was odd to say the least. And he has then not kicked on.
"But we maybe had this conversation last season around Doku to a degree and it does feel like he has kicked on as a young player and a winger. And it is difficult to be a winger in the Premier League compared to anywhere else. Savinho has the added the problem of wingers not being picked in this City team. So there does need to be a step back. But it's that emotional response of him wanting to go, and he then gets a new contract he probably doesn't deserve and he can't change games.
"Guardiola must rate him because he was the most used at the CWC and it did feel at the start of the season that City's most likely XI had Savinho in it, and now maybe he'll be lucky to get 20 minutes off the bench every other week."
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