Manchester City dropped points once again in the Premier League after they failed to secure three points against Everton at The Etihad on Boxing Day.
The Cityzens have now won just one game in their last 13 matches in all competitions, and find themselves 14 points behind Liverpool, who also have a game in-hand, in the top-flight.
Pep Guardiola’s side are seventh in the league, behind Bournemouth, Newcastle, and Nottingham Forest, and now face a fight to secure a place in the Champions League for the 2025/26 campaign.
As you can see in the highlights above, City did manage to take the lead through Bernardo Silva in the first-half against the Toffees, only to go in level at the break.
Erling Haaland then had the perfect chance to secure a win for the Cityzens in the second-half after Savinho was brought down by Vitaly Mykolenko in the box, but the Norway international saw his relatively tame effort parried away by Jordan Pickford.
Despite winning the penalty that could have resulted in the game-winner for City, it has not been a great start to life in England for Savinho, who arrived in the summer transfer window.
Savinho's form this season
The Premier League champions swooped to sign the Brazil international from Troyes in the summer for a reported fee of £30.8m, after he spent the 2023/24 campaign on loan with Girona in LaLiga.
Savinho produced nine goals and ten assists in the Spanish top-flight last season and Man City may have felt that he would provide a similar level of production, as both a scorer and a creator of goals, in England this term.
Unfortunately, however, that has not been the case, as the 20-year-old starlet has found the transition to playing in the Premier League a difficult one to make.
The left-footed whiz has made 23 appearances in all competitions for Guardiola in the 2024/25 campaign to date and is yet to find the back of the net for his first goal for City.
Savinho has failed to offer consistent quality at the top end of the pitch for the Cityzens, unlike his time with Girona in LaLiga, and that has played a part in the team’s struggles, as the wide players have failed to contribute much to the attack.
Appearances
15
xG
2.30
Goals
0
Assists
2
Dribbles completed per game
2.3
As you can see in the table above, the Brazilian forward, who typically plays on the right side of the frontline, has failed to score from 2.3 xG, which shows that his teammates have created chances for him to score.
Two goal contributions in 15 appearances in the Premier League is, to put it simply, not good enough for a forward in a team that set out to win the title at the start of the season.
Whilst there is still plenty of time for him to improve, at the age of 20, City need to improve their poor form and they could do that by swooping to sign a huge upgrade on Savinho in the upcoming January transfer window.
Manchester City's interest in Premier League forward
A recent report claimed that Manchester City are eyeing up a swoop to sign West Ham United winger Mohammed Kudus to bolster the squad ahead of the second half of the season.
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It was reported that the Cityzens are preparing to make an offer of around £66m in an attempt to convince the Hammers to part ways with the Ghana international, who has been an important player for Julen Lopetegui this term.
However, it remains to be seen whether or not their Premier League rivals are prepared to cash in on the forward in January, or if a fee of £66m would be enough to secure his services.
It will not be an easy deal to get over the line next month because there are other teams in the top-flight who are also reportedly looking to challenge for his signature.
Liverpool, Newcastle United, and Arsenal are all reportedly in the market to make a potential swoop for the West Ham sensation in January, which means that City could have plenty of competition to beat to land him.
Guardiola should, though, push the board to win the race for the left-footed star in January because he could come in as a huge upgrade on Savinho on the right flank, with both playing being left-footed forwards who predominantly play on the right.
Why Kudus would be a huge upgrade on Savinho
The 24-year-old dynamo is a proven Premier League performer who has the quality to make a difference in the final third with his quality on the ball.
Kudus joined the Hammers from Ajax, where he had produced 27 goals and 12 assists in 87 matches in all competitions, in the summer of 2023 and took little time to adapt to English football.
The Ghana international ended the 2023/24 campaign with a return of 14 goals and six assists in all competitions for the Hammers, which shows that he offered a threat as a scorer and a creator of goals throughout the campaign.
Starts
27
xG
5.18
Goals
8
Assists
6
Dribbles completed per game
3.8
As you can see in the table above, Kudus was not provided with many high-quality opportunities to find the back of the net, with 5.18 xG, but still managed to score eight goals.
He also offers a fantastic threat in transition for his team, with 3.8 completed dribbles per match, as the winger has the quality to consistently beat the opposition full-back with his dribbling ability.
So far this season, Kudus has scored three goals and provided one assist in 13 outings, with all of those goal contributions coming in his last seven matches, after a slow start to the campaign.
This shows that he has offered a far greater goal threat in the Premier League than Savinho this season, and it is not a flash in the pan as he had already proven his quality at that level last term.
The West Ham star, who was described as “unbelievable” by teammate Michail Antonio, is a proven Premier League performer who could step straight into the Man City side to be a huge upgrade on the Brazilian, by offering far more in the final third.
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