Tottenham could hand Savinho the ideal shirt number after £51m deal wrapped up

Tottenham Hotspur could follow their£51.8million acquisition of Xavi Simons with an audacious deadline day swoop for Manchester Citywinger Savinho.

If Thomas Frank's side were to pursue their interest in the Brazilian, they would have the ideal shirt number waiting for him. The north Londoners have been linked with the 21-year-old, who was sidelined during City's 2-1 defeat at Brighton and Hove Albion and their recent 2-0 loss to Tottenham at home.

Recent reports claimed the winger is concerned his move to Tottenham might fall through, leaving him battling for a spot at City alongside Jeremy Doku, Bernardo Silva, Oscar Bobb, Rayan Cherki and Omar Marmoush. Spurs were reportedly prepared to make a £65m bid for the versatile winger, but with Cherki out for at least two months according to Pep Guardiola, a move could prove challenging.

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However, if Tottenham managed to secure this remarkable transfer, they could provide Savinho with the perfect welcome gift. Should he make the switch to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, he could don the No. 26 shirt he wore at City.

Had the deal been finalised a fortnight earlier, Spurs could have offered him the No. 7 shirt, a number he briefly sported during his time at PSV Eindhoven U21s. However, Simons was handed the No. 7 when he was officially presented at the beginning of last week.

Squad numbers might be the least of the winger's concerns as his hopes of securing a switch to north London appear to be hanging by a thread. TBR Football reported Savinho was keen on a move to north London, with discussions between the two clubs initially appearing encouraging.

It has also been suggested any potential deal was dependent on City bringing in Real Madrid winger Rodrygo, who has found himself out of favour under Xabi Alonso at the Bernabeu. With no transfer between City and the Spanish giants seemingly materialising, Savinho could be forced to remain at the Etihad.

Last week, ESPN reported City have told Tottenham that Savinho, who is yet to appear in the new Premier League season following a pre-season knock, is not available for purchase.

This stance may have been strengthened by the injury blow to summer acquisition Cherki. Speaking in his post-match press conference following the loss to Brighton, Guardiola revealed the Frenchman faces approximately two months on the side-lines with a torn left quadricep.

He has already been substituted by in-form Liverpool striker Hugo Ekitike in the French national team squad for their World Cup qualifiers against Ukraine and Iceland.

When questioned whether City's loss to the Seagulls or Cherki's injury might prompt a last-minute scramble on transfer deadline day, Guardiola simply responded: "No."

The loss left City languishing in 13th place, following a 2-0 defeat at home to Tottenham in their previous match. On the other hand, Frank's team failed to build on their impressive performance against Guardiola's side last week, suffering a disappointing home defeat to Bournemouth.

Despite dominating possession, Spurs were fortunate the final score-line was only 1-0, as Bournemouth launched 20 attempts on goal, resulting in Guglielmo Vicario making save after save.