The Radar column also examines the Barcelona youth product ready to step in at Crystal Palace, including exclusive insight from his former coach; plus, why Arsenal's forgotten man Oleksandr Zinchenko could still have a role to play under Mikel Arteta
Sunday 18 August 2024 15:47, UK
Welcome to The Radar, a weekly column in which Sky Sports' Nick Wright provides his insight and analysis on need-to-know stories from up and down the Premier League.
Using a blend of data and opinion, The Radar offers a unique perspective on players catching the eye, tactical trends shaping the game, and finer details you may have missed. This week:
⭐ Savinho primed to shine for Man City
🔴 Liverpool's loss, Brentford's gain?
🔵 Palace's potential Guehi replacement?
❓ Arsenal's forgotten man
🔍 A player to track this weekend
Oscar Bobb's leg fracture was cruelly timed after a strong pre-season. The 21-year-old looked set for a breakout campaign following Julian Alvarez's £82m exit to Atletico Madrid. But he was not the only Manchester City attacker to catch the eye in the Community Shield.
The early evidence suggests Savinho, a £33.6m signing who spent last season at Girona, could help mitigate the blow. Taking in his second-half substitute appearance from the press box at Wembley, it was striking how seamlessly the Brazilian slotted in.
His willingness to take on his man, as he did repeatedly, certainly satisfied his manager. "With wingers, I always ask, if you have a good feeling, attack the opponent," said Pep Guardiola afterwards. "You have to do it, it's your quality. He did that really well."
Like Jeremy Doku, the player he replaced on City's left flank at Wembley, Savinho specialises in old-fashioned wing play. "He has an incredible quality to attack the byline," added Guardiola, who also marvelled at the quality of his crossing and final ball. "I think when he is playing on the left, he will help Erling [Haaland] score goals."
It is worth noting, though, that he popped up elsewhere against Manchester United too, finding Bobb to set up the equaliser with an incisive pass from the right, and even rampaging centrally, always demanding the ball. "He was aggressive," added Guardiola.
It helps, of course, in terms of settling in swiftly, that he has arrived from another City Group club in Girona, their shared methodology making for an easier transition, and allowing him to focus on showing the same qualities in England as he did in Spain.
Savinho was key to Girona's third-placed LaLiga finish last term, scoring nine goals and providing 10 assists, all with Guardiola watching closely. "He was one of the best players in the league," added the City boss in his press conference at Wembley.
Savinho made more dribbles than anyone else in the division. Nobody set up more goals from open play. He showed physical robustness, featuring in every game but one, despite taking regular kicks, and earned a reputation for mental toughness too.
His willingness to take City's fourth penalty in the shootout at Wembley - which he coolly slotted into the corner - underlined that mental toughness and offered further encouragement about his capacity to step up. City might need him sooner than expected.
Fabio Carvalho's motivation for joining Brentford shone through in his first interview after completing his £27m move from Liverpool. "As a player, you want to go somewhere you're wanted and somewhere you're loved," he said. "That's why I'm here."
The implication was that he did not get that at Liverpool, where opportunities were limited, and his comments called to mind a conversation with the founder of his first club, Balham FC in south London, who recalled his talent causing a "circus" of interest from top academies as a boy.
"The key thing about Fabio is that he just wants to play football," said Gregg Cruttwell as he explained Carvalho's reasoning for choosing Fulham over a host of more prestigious suitors.
Fulham appealed because of the carefully thought-out first-team pathway they offered. Everything else was secondary. "That's what some of the clubs got wrong," added Cruttwell. "Fabio was just as interested in playing in a pick-up game in the park as he was in training at Chelsea."
It is easy to understand his frustration, then, at how his spell at Liverpool panned out. It seemed he had a bright future at the club when he followed a goal against Bournemouth with a winner against Newcastle after his arrival in 2022. But that was as good as it got.
Amid stiff competition for places in Liverpool's attack, Carvalho was unable to carve out a place for himself, only finding the consistency he craved after joining Hull on loan in the second half of last season, following a similarly frustrating spell in Germany with RB Leipzig.
Jurgen Klopp praised his attitude in difficult circumstances. "No player has impressed me more than Fabio," he said. And his exit is a cause for regret on both sides, especially after a pre-season which featured goals against Arsenal and Manchester United.
The hope for Brentford, savvy operators with an eye for untapped potential, is that Carvalho will flourish with regular playing time, as he did at Hull and at Fulham before that.
Those spells came primarily in the second tier, of course. But Carvalho is undoubtedly a top-tier talent, a creator as well as a goal scorer, with the technical prowess to excel in tight spaces and the speed of thought to unlock defences.
He just needs a chance to show it.
It remains to be seen whether Crystal Palace will be able to keep Marc Guehi from the clutches of Newcastle this summer. But in Chadi Riad, a £14m signing from Barcelona who has earned positive reviews in pre-season, they may already have a replacement.
The 21-year-old is certainly held in high regard by those who worked with him in Barcelona's La Masia academy. "He is a big, strong, aggressive and intense centre-back with a very good aerial game," Oscar Lopez, his coach for two years with their U19s, tells Sky Sports.
"It's difficult to beat him in the air, both defensively and offensively. He is fast when he has to run back towards his own goal, and brave when it comes to going forward. He is also capable of leading his defence when he has the trust of his team-mates."
He may need time to build that trust at Palace, of course. But he certainly managed it on loan at Real Betis, where manager Manuel Pellegrini raved about his "spectacular" season.
"He makes very few errors for a player who has never played in the second division, never mind the first division," he said. "He has performed at a high level and that is lucky for us."
Like Guehi, and unsurprisingly given his Barcelona schooling, Riad is also comfortable on the ball. Last season at Betis, his 89.7 per cent pass success rate was higher than any other starter. According to Lopez, he does not shy away from the more difficult passes either.
"He is really comfortable in possession, especially on his left foot," he says. "He likes to drive forward with the ball to find free spaces, often playing diagonal passes to the wingers. He knows how to combine with team-mates and how to orchestrate build-up play."
And so, as the uncertainty around Guehi's future continues, Palace can take comfort from the fact that, in Riad, they already have an exciting young centre-back waiting to make a mark of his own.
David Raya offered a glowing assessment of new defender Riccardo Calafiori in an interview at Arsenal's training ground this week, highlighting his willingness to throw himself into challenges. "He would put his head in a washing machine," he said with a chuckle.
The 22-year-old featured mostly as a centre-back for previous club Bologna, and for Italy at the Euros, but he is also comfortable at left-back, meaning his arrival raised questions over the future of Oleksandr Zinchenko, who lost his place in the side last season.
It was Zinchenko, though, who started Arsenal's final two games of pre-season, against Bayer Leverkusen and Lyon at the Emirates Stadium, with Calafiori only appearing as a substitute. His performances were a reminder of his qualities as he threaded passes through midfield and generally looked reinvigorated.
It appears unlikely the 27-year-old will start regularly in the upcoming campaign. There is competition from Takehiro Tomiyasu, Jurrien Timber and even Jakub Kiwior as well as Calafiori. But then that was never his role at Manchester City, and he was still important.
His defensive lapses became a source of frustration to Arsenal fans last season. But, as at City, there will always be games which call for his ball-playing ability in the left-back role. This four-time Premier League title winner can still play a significant part.
A big fee brings big expectations for Dominic Solanke but Tottenham's new signing is Radar-approved following an excellent spell at Bournemouth. He brings outstanding qualities on and off the ball and will be out to impress on his debut against newly-promoted Leicester on Monday Night Football.
The Premier League curtain comes up with Manchester United's home clash against Fulham on Friday Night Football. Coverage begins at 6.30pm ahead of the 8pm kick-off time.
On Saturday, Sky Sports is the only place to watch Julen Lopetegui's first game in charge of West Ham as they take on Unai Emery's Aston Villa in the 5.30pm kick-off.
Super Sunday starts with Brentford against Crystal Palace from 1pm, kicking off at 2pm, with Chelsea hosting champions Manchester City in the later game at 4.30pm.
Finally, don't miss the first Monday Night Football of the season, with David Jones, Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville on air from 6.30pm as Leicester take on Tottenham at 8pm.
