City’s £60m sale of Savinho to Tottenham clears a wide-forward spot and adds money to the budget, at a point when Vinicius Junior’s contract situation at Real Madrid remains unresolved.
Vini’s current deal runs to June 2027. Talks over an extension have stalled on salary — he wants around €30m a year, Real Madrid have offered closer to €20m. A meeting between the two parties is scheduled for late July. If nothing is agreed, Vinicius would be free to negotiate with foreign clubs from January 1.
City have been linked with Vinicius for over a year, mainly through reports from TEAMtalk describing the club as monitoring his situation. That has not been confirmed by any of the more established transfer reporters. There is no indication City are preparing an approach.
What has changed is the practical picture at the Etihad. Savinho’s exit removes a squad option on the left and recoups more than City paid for him twelve months ago.
Enzo Maresca’s rebuild so far has centred on younger players — Elliot Anderson, the enquiry for Federico Valverde — rather than an established forward of Vinis’s profile. Whether City intend to fill that spot with a player of his level, or leave it for now, is not known.
Real Madrid’s position is also worth weighing. Club president Florentino Perez has said publicly he wants Vinicius to stay “forever,” and the club has held firm through contract disputes with other players before.
The money and the squad space are both there. The player’s contract situation is genuinely unresolved. Whether City turn any of that into an approach is separate, and there is currently nothing to suggest they will.
