MUCH has been made of Manchester City’s reliance on Erling Haaland (£7.8m) for goals this season.
The Norwegian poacher is on course for another prolific campaign having reached 21 goals in all competitions but only one of his team-mates, Phil Foden (£6m), has notched five at the time of writing.
It’s telling that left-back Josko Gvardiol (£4.4m) is the defending champions’ third top scorer this term with four goals to his name.
Among others, summer signing Savinho (£4m) has been criticised for not chipping in with goals from out wide.
In previous years, the likes of Leroy Sane, Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez have scored lorry-loads of goals from the flanks in Pep Guardiola’s system but the Brazil international does not have the same eye for goal at this stage of his career.
In fact, Savinho scored his first goal in his 23rd appearance for his new club when he lashed home from close range against Leicester in Gameweek 17.
However, while the 20-year-old may lack goal threat at present, he’s been the most creative player in Guardiola’s ranks since his arrival.
He registered three assists in Saturday’s 4-1 win over West Ham to take his tally for 2024/25 into double figures.
MOST ASSISTS FOR MANCHESTER CITY THIS SEASON:
Savinho also leads the way for big chances created among his team-mates with 12 in all competitions.
And it’s this impressive creative output that has made him Dream Team’s most in-form midfielder.
The ex-Girona winger has taken 36 points from his last three outings, one more than Bryan Mbeumo (£4.5m).
Suddenly, it appears that not only is Savinho a viable option, he might be smart selection for the foreseeable future.
Man City are one of just six teams with six fixtures to fulfil across the next three Gameweeks: Salford, Brentford, Ipswich, PSG, Chelsea, Club Brugge.
It’s difficult for Dream Team managers to predict minutes for City midfielders but Savinho has looked more effective than the likes of Jeremy Doku (£4.4m) and Jack Grealish (£3.2m) lately, something Guardiola would have noted.
Haaland seems to be enjoying the old-school service from the young Brazilian – the pair have combined for three goals in the last two games.
Savinho has another string to his bow in the form of bonus points; he’s amassed 28 at this stage.
Ryan Gravenberch (£3.8m), James Maddison (£4.4m) and Youri Tielemans (£3.7m) are the only players above him in the metric.
The main reason for this is his silky dribbling ability.
Only Morgan Rogers (£3.5m) has completed more successful dribbles in all competitions this season.
Between his creative output and penchant for bonus points, Savinho’s lack of goal threat is barely an issue at all.
His current ownership of 3% makes him a tempting differential option ahead of Gameweek 19.
Play Score Predictor with Dream Team this season!
