He wipes the floor with Savinho: Spurs hold talks to sign £26m England star

With Tottenham Hotspur‘s status as a Premier League team secured, attention has now turned to the summer transfer window.

What a crucial one this is. Only a few months ago, Ange Postecoglou lamented on The Overlap that Spurs are unable to pay a premium in wages, instead picking up floor raisers, rather than ceiling raisers.

While the Londoners are unlikely to ever challenge with the financial might of Manchester United and Manchester City, nor will they ever have the same appeal, they do need to be more ambitious and crucially, more street smart in the window.

Signing out of contract players is not hugely ambitious but it does mark an effort to be shrewder in the transfer market. The latest reports suggest that Andy Robertson and Marcos Senesi will both sign on a free transfer once their deals expire this summer at Liverpool and Bournemouth, respectively.

How about any bigger deals? Well, Manchester City’s Savinho is one name doing the rounds.

Spurs looking to sign a new winger

Last summer, Spurs were really interested in prising Savinho away from the Etihad. The Brazilian was the subject of a couple of bids from the Lilywhites but he ultimately stayed at City, penning a new contract.

Well, a year on, the recruitment team have re-opened talks to sign the player and he is said to be open to a move. It’s likely that after a season in which he struggled for regular minutes, Tottenham will be able to drive the asking price down a bit.

Also on their radar is Yan Diomande of RB Leipzig. The 19-year-old is one of the most in-demand players in European football right now so of all their targets, that one feels particularly unlikely.

Perhaps Marcus Rashford could be a wise signing? The England international is all set to leave Man United on a permanent basis this summer and he has plenty of suitors, not least from Barcelona who want him after his impressive loan spell in 2025/26.

They can sign for £26m but they are haggling over a lower price. That seems rather ridiculous for a player of his quality and it could allow other suitors to leapfrog the Spanish side.

According to the Daily Mail, Rashford is dreaming of returning to Barca but Aston Villa, Arsenal and Spurs are all said to have held discussions about signing the winger this summer.

Why Rashford would be a better signing than Savinho

While Savinho would not necessarily be a bad signing, it would be something of a gamble and Spurs cannot afford to take any more risks in the transfer market given they have finished 17th in back-to-back seasons now.

The Manchester City winger is a threat, that’s for sure. In 2024/25, he registered as many as 13 assists. Yet, as he only started seven league games in 2025/26, he scored just once and supplied two assists. That’s not great, but rather impressively, he currently ranks among the finest 1% of wingers in Europe’s top five leagues for progressive carries per 90, making an enormous 9.81.

Aged 22, the Brazilian has plenty of potential and he could well realise that at Spurs. Yet, in Rashford, they would be signing a ready-made option, a plug-and-play winger who, in the words of international colleague Anthony Gordon, is “one of the best players in the world”.

Alienated by Ruben Amorim in 2024/25, the Englishman’s stock fell a great deal, notably after being excluded by Gareth Southgate for the 2024 European Championships.

Well, he is now back in form again, recognised as one of the game’s premier wingers after helping Barcelona win LaLiga.

His spell at Camp Nou reminded everyone of just how good he was during his peak days at Manchester United. While Savinho struggled for game time and end product, Rashford was the complete opposite.

The 28-year-old scored 14 goals in all competitions, eight of which came in the Spanish top-flight. Furthermore, he registered 14 assists across the board.

Boasting electric pace and a ruthless finishing ability, there are not many better players on the market right now. This is a player who has already lit up the Premier League.

Lest we forget, Rashford has 297 English top-flight appearances under his belt, scoring 89 goals and supplying 53 assists. Available for what feels like a bargain price this summer, Spurs would be mad not to at least try to sign him.