Enzo Maresca has revealed that Savinho asked to leave Manchester City on his first day as the club's head coach. Tottenham have agreed a deal to sign the Brazilian winger for £85 million, with a medical due to take place in the coming days.
Savinho's departure confirmed
Spurs tried and failed to sign Savinho last summer, and Standard Sport understands the player's representatives have been in talks with the north London club since May. Speaking ahead of his first Premier League match in charge of City, Maresca revealed that Savinho has been looking to leave the club for quite some time.
He told assembled reporters on Friday: "It's quite clear when players want to leave, for any reason, then it's complicated to convince them to stay or change their thoughts.
"It happened with Rodri, the same thing is happening with Savinho, since day one he asked me that he wants to leave. So now we are waiting.
"It's complicated when the player is thinking they need a new challenge or want to change because they want probably to go back to Spain, or play more minutes - for different reasons. It's complicated to convince them to stay."
Marmoush expected to follow
Omar Marmoush is expected to follow Savinho to Tottenham before the transfer deadline, though Maresca would not be drawn when asked for an update on his situation: "I don't know. Omar is still here, still with us. Different situation than with Savinho. We'll see what happens."
Pressed as to whether City would look to replace the Egyptian this summer, he added: "I think it's always complicated when players leaving and someone has to arrive.
"But we see if Omar stays or we see what happens. For sure, we are going to have more options in case players go out. If they go out, someone has to arrive."
High turnover at City
It has been a summer of high turnover at City, with experienced players such as Rodri, Bernardo Silva and John Stones all departing, taking with them a combined 757 Premier League appearances. They all follow the long-serving and highly decorated manager Pep Guardiola out of the club.
Maresca is adamant, though, that City will be able to cope without that experience in the side: "Probably, apart from Rodri, the rest they all have in common one thing - that they didn't play a lot."
City have been linked with moves for Ayyoub Bouaddi and Enzo Fernandez as they bid to rebuild their midfield, but with less than two weeks left in the transfer window, it remains to be seen whether there is time to complete more high-profile deals.
Maresca, though, is nonplussed: "I'm not worried, I'm not concerned. Since day one, we knew exactly what we need. We are working together with the sport director of the club, there are 11 days to go and many things can happen."
