Roberto De Zerbi revealed he has set new Tottenham signing Savio a target of scoring 10 to 12 goals after he opened his account on what was described as a “perfect” debut by the Spurs boss.

Named on the bench after completing his move from Manchester City for an initial £75m, Savio came on in the second half of Tottenham’s EFL Cup second-round tie with Charlton Athletic and had a swift impact as Spurs prevailed 5-1. They will face Liverpool at Anfield in the third round.

Savio cut in from the right to fire home his first Tottenham goal from the edge of the area to make it 4-1. He then appeared to have a second, but the goal was credited to team-mate Ben Davies after his strike deflected off the full-back’s hip.

De Zerbi sets ambitious Savio target

The size of the fee for Savio raised eyebrows given his relatively limited impact in two seasons at City.

He scored just seven goals in his time at the Etihad Stadium and has only once hit double digits in his career, doing so while on loan at Girona in 2023-24, when he found the net 11 times.

But De Zerbi is hoping Savio can prove a prolific presence for Tottenham after quickly getting off the mark.

“It was a perfect day for him,” De Zerbi said. “I think his biggest step and biggest improvement is to increase the number of goals. 

“With his qualities, he is one of the best wingers. But the best wingers score many goals.

“I spoke with him yesterday, two days ago. We put the goal on 10 to 12 goals because we need those goals from the wingers. 

“Last season, I think we suffered too much. Also, because the number of goals were not enough to compete for nothing more than that position.”

Savio could make his Premier League debut for Tottenham on Saturday when they host Newcastle United.