Multi-club model seen in action in Savio case

MANCHESTER City are working on a deal to sign Savio from sister club Troyes – just months after Newcastle United came under fire for doing business with another PIFowned club.

Several Premier League sides previously raised concerns about Newcastle selling Allan Saint-Maximin to Al-Ahli, who are also majority owned by the PIF, even though the £23m deal was ultimately found to be of fair market value last summer.

Then, back in November, a motion was tabled to introduce a temporary block on loan moves between clubs with the same owners.

Rival executives repeatedly stressed the vote was not specifically aimed at Newcastle.

However, the timing felt significant ahead of the January window opening after Newcastle were heavily linked with a mid-season move for Ruben Neves, who plays for Al-Hilal, another Saudi club the PIF have a 75% stake in.

Newcastle, of course, did not ultimately attempt to sign Neves but the outcome of the vote was widely labelled a result for the black-and-whites, which Eddie Howe found a ‘bit strange’ because ‘it’s not just about us’.

Indeed, City were among the eight sides who objected alongside Newcastle.

City’s subsequent move for Savio is a reminder Newcastle are not alone when it comes to doing business with clubs with the same owners.

Savio is Troyes’ record signing, but the Brazilian never kicked a ball for the Ligue 2 side and is currently thriving on loan at Girona, who also fall under the City Football Group umbrella.

Savio has been directly involved in 15 goals in all competitions for the surprise La Liga title challengers this season and City are looking to bring the highly rated forward to the Etihad this summer in a permanent deal.

This is the multi-club model in action and part-owner Amanda Staveley previously confirmed that Newcastle’s owners had also ‘looked’ at building such a set-up. However, CEO Darren Eales suggested last month there had been no significant update on that front.

“From our perspective, we’re looking at a lot of different projects and so that’s something we would continue to look at, but not something that comes to mind at the moment,” he added.

“Fairly preliminary at the moment.”