Savinho: The Man City-owned Brazilian teenager spearheading Girona's climb to the top of La Liga

Like many young Brazilian talents, Savinho started his career with his local club. Born on a cow farm outside Sao Mateus, a large town not far from some of the major tourist destinations of south-eastern Brazil, the winger established himself in regional youth setups. He wasn't on the radar of many academies as a youngster, but after starring in a tournament that included teams from Atletico Mineiro and Cruizero, Serie A setups started to take notice.

His now-agent, Juliano Rodrigues, recommended Savinho, then 11, to the academy director at Mineiro. But getting him there wasn't simple. Atletico are based in Minas Gerias, some 250 miles from his hometown. Eventually he moved there with his mother.

Once settled in, Savinho rose through the ranks quickly. He was playing with the Under-13s as an 11-year-old, and broke into the Brazilian national team setup in his mid-teens — playing a role for the Under-15 side that won the Copa America in 2019.

Savinho first received a call up to Atletico's first team in 2020, penning a three-year contract — the maximum length of someone in his age group. He made his full debut in September 2020, but appeared sparingly for the next two years. His first goal came in May 2022, the third in a 3-1 Copa Libertadores win over Ecuadorian side Independiente del Valle.

By then, though, attention had come from elsewhere. The City Football Group, the organisation spearheaded by Manchester City, has roots deep in Brazilian football. And they wanted Savinho. They paid Atletico €6.5 million (£5.5m/$7.4m) for his services, and handed the club 12.5% of any future sale of the winger.

Other clubs were after him at the time, including Arsenal, who had found success in a winger of a similar profile in Gabriel Martinelli. However, CFG were willing to pay up. He was officially signed by then-Ligue 2 club Troyes, who swiftly loaned him to PSV. He was a bit part player for the Eredivisie runners up last season, making nine league appearances, struggling to break into the side behind the highly-rated Johan Bakayoko.

But another loan move — this time to Girona — changed things. The middling La Liga side were in need of attacking help after losing top scorer Castellanos. And Savinho was their answer.

Manager Michel Sanchez has handed Savinho a massive role in the side early on, deploying the 18-year-old on the left of an ambitious 4-3-3 formation. It seemed to be an odd fit for a player who had spent most of his youth playing on the right and cutting onto his left — a trait that often earned the teenager comparisons to Dutch legend Arjen Robben.

But it has worked out so far, with Savinho having a hand in six of Girona's 18 goals. Michel has accordingly been full of praise:

"We saw [Savinho] at the World Cup because we followed him and we had the feeling that he could help us," he told Cadena SER. "I know they are big words, but since the emergence of Vinicius I don’t think I have seen a one-on-one talent as destabilising as him.”

Michel may be ambitious in his comparison, but he rather broadly has a point. Savinho is a devastating one-on-one dribbler, blessed with pace and the kind of quick feet that have come to be associated with some of the best Brazilian wingers over the years.

Still, there are some stylistic differences that set him apart. While the recent crop of Brazilian wingers — Raphinha, Antony, Vinicius Jr — have all functioned as inside forwards, Savinho loves to hug the touchline, creating as much space as possible to get at his man one-on-one. And, crucially, he can take on a defender in either direction.

But there is more to his game than just dribbling ability. His Atletico manager, Jorge Sampaoli, highlighted Savinho's playmaking and technicality in the final third, suggesting he was a creative player more in the mould of Real Madrid's Rodrygo — only better.

At this point in his career, Savinho is uniquely good at one thing. Very few reach his level of dribbling and ball-carrying success at such a young age. The challenge now is to develop, and add more weapons to his arsenal.

It is perhaps the nature of Girona's system that hurts Savinho's passing stats. Here is a player who is not really asked to move the ball much. But for a CFG-owned player — with the potential chance to play for Pep Guardiola's side — he will have to become more well-rounded.

And that will mean being a little more shrewd on the ball. Savinho's pass completion percentage is in the 21st percentile among midfielders at a concerning 77%, per FBRef. Meanwhile, he could certainly work on his right foot. Naturally a winger who spent his youth cutting inside, his weak foot wasn't a priority. The result has been a very one footed player — not dissimilar to Raphinha. He will need to fine tune that to reach the top level of the game.

With all due respect to Michel's judgment of his player, the Vinicius comparison might be too lofty. Real Madrid's winger is among the best in the world, and although he didn't start to reach his full potential until the age of 21 — Savinho, by that logic, has two more years — his ceiling is simply far higher.

An early comparison during his Atletico days was Malcolm, a likening that now looks far less complimentary after his failure at Barcelona. Rodrygo also makes sense. Both are formidable dribblers with an impressive burst of pace. Both spent their youth days playing as wingers, but have the eye for a killer pass more akin to a No.10 or second striker.

But perhaps the most apt comparison is Leroy Sane — a former CFG employee. There's a lot of Sane in Savinho's game. It's in the close control, powerful strike, and finishing ability. They also share the propensity to hit one from distance, and excel when cutting inside and rolling a ball through the lines to a team-mate — the kind of thing Sane perfected alongside Sergio Aguero at Man City.

Like many at CFG, Savinho has his eyes set on the Premier League. The player admitted as much earlier this month, citing the potential pathway to Manchester as the primary reason for signing for Troyes last year.

"I knew that Troyes was in the City Group and I thought that by working I could one day reach Manchester City. Of course, I will have to do very well here in Girona," he told Sport.

And although Man City is his most immediate goal, there is still interest from elsewhere. Real Madrid and Roma have both been linked with Savinho, while more clubs are sure to enquire, should he continue to thrive for a side that simply won't stop overcoming expectations.

There is, of course, a long way to go. And a lot can go awry for a teenager, especially with such lofty ambitions. But he's made the perfect start, and seems primed for a bigger move next summer.