Pep Guardiola has described new Manchester City signing Savinho as ‘devastating’.

The forward joined City last week from Troyes on a five-year deal until 2029.

Already a full Brazil international, the 20-year-old was outstanding last season on loan at Girona, as they finished third in La Liga and qualified for the UEFA Champions League for the first time in their history.

And Guardiola, clearly excited by the prospect of integrating Savinho into his side, says he can cause serious damage when he isolates full-backs in wide areas.

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“His impact at Girona was absolutely amazing,” Guardiola said at a press conference ahead of our first US Tour match against Celtic at the Kenan Memorial Stadium on Tuesday.

“[Girona manager] Michel did an incredible job. He can play on the wing, and when he is one-v-one, he is devastating.

“He is young and to bring in one or two players to keep things fresh, it is necessary.

“We cannot change six or seven - it is impossible, it is unsustainable - we have to be smart.

“Many players want to come here but we didn’t get agreements from the clubs and when they ask so, so high price we don’t do it.

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“We cannot forget he is playing for the national team in Brazil - and he can play both sides which there are few [players capable]. We can use him in two positions. We are very happy to have him.

“We say thank you to Girona because without the job of the manager there it is impossible to bring him here.”

Meanwhile, Guardiola says he is delighted to be back on US soil for what looks set to be a demanding but rewarding pre-season schedule.

City face Celtic on Tuesday in North Carolina, before heading to New York to face AC Milan on Saturday.

Then it’s off to Orlando for a game against Barcelona, before our final match of the Tour against Chelsea in Ohio.

For Guardiola, there’s nowhere he would rather be to fine-tune his squad ahead of the new season.

“I have been many, many years here and the organisation is always unbelievable,” he said.

“When we arrive at the airport, the hotel is always nice, the facilities are really good - I love to come here.

“Every time since [my time at] Barcelona, it’s always good - sometimes we have to go to other continents, but I like to come here to the States.”

Hear Pep’s thoughts in full via the video above...

USA TOUR 2024

City face Celtic, AC Milan, Barcelona and Chelsea during the Club’s pre-season tour of the United States.

As always, mancity.com and the official app are the best places to keep across all things City during our time in the US.

Including pre-match press conferences and live open training as well as detailed and varied in-game and post-friendly coverage of all our fixtures, our website and app provide fans with a complete City experience, all from one handy place.

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Our matches will be shown on both platforms in the following countries: United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Japan, Norway, Sweden and United Arab Emirates. 

To access these matches from one of the locations listed above, you will need an active CITY+ subscription. Those same restrictions will apply to full-match replays and Pitcam highlights.

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For fans living outside of the countries named, we will have a full explainer article on how to tune in coming in due course.

Subscribers will be able to watch on the official app and mancity.com, with the option to cast matches onto their TV from mobile devices. Find out how to do this via our handy guide here

For more information on CITY+, including subscription prices, click here.