Tottenham have been forced to look elsewhere in their pursuit of a new winger, with Manchester City’s valuation of Savinho remaining too high.
Spurs were keen on City’s Brazilian star, with the 21-year-old reportedly open on a move to north London, where he would be likely to enjoy more game time.
However, Manchester City are sticking to their £60m asking price for the Brazil international and Tottenham were not planning on paying that much for him.
Manchester City paid just over £30m for him a year ago and after just one Premier League goal in 29 appearances in his first season, Spurs may have been justified in expecting his valuation to be lower than the £60m mark.
However, they are now looking at other targets, with the Independent reporting that Tottenham’s attention has turned to Monaco’s Maghnes Akliouche.
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The 23-year-old came through the youth ranks at Monaco and made his senior debut for the club in 2021.
Akliouche has been a regular in the first team over the last couple of seasons, making 31 appearances in 2023-24 and 43 outings over the last campaign.
He started the new campaign with a goal in the 3-1 win over Le Havre in Ligue 1 on Saturday.
Will Akliouche be cheaper than Savinho?
Spurs consider Akliouche as a cheaper option than Savinho, but there might not be a great deal in it, with the young forward under contract until 2028.
The Frenchman was linked with a number of clubs earlier in the transfer window by L’Equipe, including Spurs’ fierce rivals Arsenal, and the French publication reported that Monaco would too want around £60m.
Speaking in April, Monaco boss Adi Hutter acknowledged that there will likely be a lot of interest in his player this summer and said he is ready to make a step up.
‘He is already playing at a top club,’ the manager said of the winger. ‘We are all happy with what he has done over the last two years. He made a big, big step in the right direction.
‘I can imagine that the club is receiving some offers from him. He is 23, and I don’t see many players with the same skills as Akliouche. When you ask me, he is ready to make the next step. We will see what happens with Maghnes.
‘We are proud that we brought a young player from the academy to become a performance player at the club and then to maybe become a top top player at a top top club.’
Guardiola speaks out on Savinho’s future
Savinho missed Manchester City’s Premier League opener against Wolves on Saturday through injury, but Pep Guardiola said ahead of the campaign that he hopes the ‘extraordinary’ player stays.
‘I don’t know,’ the Spaniard said on whether Savinho will stay at City. ‘Tottenham in that case or any other club who wants a player should call the club.
‘I am only concerned right now that Savinho will be with us for the rest of the season and hopefully many, many years because at 21 years old, with the potential he has, he plays a lot of minutes. He has to improve in the final decisions but he is an extraordinary player.
‘Otherwise he would not have played more than 3,000 minutes last season.
‘But in the end the desire of the players is above everything. Then they have to find an agreement with the club. If they don’t make an agreement, the player will be here because the club spent money on that player.’