Pep Guardiola confirms new contract for Man City star is 'close' after resisting summer transfer interest from Premier League rivals

Guardiola suggested that City were "so clear" that they wanted Savinho to stay. The Brazilian has been a versatile asset since making the move within the City Football Group from Troyes last year, capable of playing on either flank – he racked up 10 Premier League assists in 2024-25.

"We were so clear that we want to keep him," the City boss said after Savinho started the weekend's timely win over Burnley.

"It depends on the offer [from Tottenham]. Maybe the offer was not good enough for the club, I don't know," he added. "But of course, at his age, last season he played a lot of minutes. He can play on both sides, right and left, has pace that is unbelievable. So in that term, he's really good."

Reports at the time suggested that City were unwilling to let Savinho leave during the summer for what Spurs were prepared to pay. The north London side saw £42 million ($56m) turned down, with City said to be holding out for a much higher offer worth £67m ($90m).

It seems that they may actually have been willing to sell for the right price, which has been the club's business model for years – especially if a player has shown interest in pursuing something else, as was the case with Raheem Sterling, Riyad Mahrez and others in the past.

That ties into what Guardiola hinted by stating he didn't know if the problem for Spurs was that their offer wasn't good enough to interest City's sporting hierarchy. The club paid just over £30m ($40m) and selling for the alleged asking price would have meant more than doubling their money in 12 months.

It has been reported that City have agreed a new deal with Savinho until 2031, a two-year extension on his existing deal signed only just over 12 months ago.

"It's happened with Rico [Lewis], Nico [O'Reilly]…Savinho is close, and in the past, Ruben [Dias] has done it as well," Guardiola said, referencing other recent deals that have been signed.

"So we'll try to be sure to show a player that we want him. Do the effort that we need to stay a bit longer. So I'm really pleased. Nico is growing a lot. I think since he started to play, we lost just one game. The FA Cup final against [Crystal] Palace.

"When he's not been involved it was defeats all the time. So Nico helped us a lot, improved a lot in his aggressivity and set pieces and with the ball. We're really, really pleased."

It's just days since Nico O'Reilly signed his own new City contract until 2030. The versatile home-grown talent has made a real impact over the last 12 months, becoming a regular in the first-team squad thanks to his ability to fill in at left-back.

Upon signing the deal, he was particularly grateful towards his mum for all the support she has given him on his football journey so far.

"I'm so happy, I feel really good to have signed this contract with this amazing club. It's made my family proud and yeah; it's an amazing day," O'Reilly said.

"My mum has been making sacrifices for me since I was a baby, and she has put her life into mine and I'm so happy she was able to do this and just hope one day I can pay her back. She's so proud and obviously she has to take a lot of credit as well because I wouldn't be here without her, so I'd like to say thank you to my mum."

Savinho missed the start of the season because of injury and Burnley was his first Premier League start of the campaign, having also been named in the lineup a few days earlier for the Carabao Cup third round triumph over Huddersfield Town.

Now that his fitness is building, it points to him having a significant role to play under Guardiola over the coming months. The Brazilian will primarily be competing with Oscar Bobb for a role on the right flank, but also serves as a point of cover for Jeremy Doku on the opposite side.