Savio arrival has Ben Davies excited for Tottenham’s season
Spurs’ new signing made an immediate impact, claiming a goal and assist on his debut.
Long-serving Tottenham defender Ben Davies may have stolen a goal from Savio, but hailed the £85million forward for a “top quality” instant impact.
Spurs have waited all summer to pull off Roberto De Zerbi’s number one target and the 22-year-old made up for lost time with a scintillating cameo in a thumping 5-1 win over Charlton in the Carabao Cup.
After Savio was introduced in the 71st-minute, he opened his account for Tottenham with 82 minutes on the clock when he cut inside and rifled into the bottom corner from the edge of the area.
Three minutes later and Savio wheeled off to celebrate what would have been only his ninth goal in English football, but his side-footed shot deflected off Davies and the Welsh centre-back claimed the goal.
It did not stop Savio from holding aloft the corner flag in front of jubilant Spurs fans in the South Stand on a night to savour for the Brazil attacker.
Davies said: “I think he was a bit disappointed to be honest and fair enough, but it hit me last so it’s my goal!
“No, a proper impact. It is what we expect when you bring quality players on, they come on and show what they are about.
“He was dangerous, he looked really sharp and hopefully we see more of that.
“Look, it is one game. We are really excited about what we’ve seen so far.
“He has shown he is a top, top quality player and really, really hope he can show more of what he did tonight throughout his time here.”
Savio stole the limelight from Tottenham academy graduate Mikey Moore, who broke the deadlock after 41 minutes with a fine left-footed strike before he produced several mazy runs either side of half-time.
De Zerbi also introduced 17-year-old Luca Williams-Barnett for only his second Spurs appearance.
Davies, who joined in 2014 and holds a UEFA A Licence, said: “It is the lifeblood of the club having young boys through the academy, the boys over there and I did my badges with them.
“I coached Luca when he was 16, that was my age group and these boys, it is their dream to play for this club.
“Everyone in the academy works so hard to make that happen and this is a credit to the guys in the academy.”
A four-goal victory was a welcome boost after Saturday’s humbling 3-0 loss at Brentford, which halted the feel-good factor after a summer full of Premier League-proven signings.
Asked how long this new-look Spurs could take to gel, Davies said: “Hopefully not too long.
“It’s obviously great to be involved on the day to day and to see (De Zerbi) work.
“It is not just about the patterns we learn or how we want to play, but you really have to learn it.
“Then it becomes second nature to you on the pitch and you see different pictures that perhaps you wouldn’t have seen before.
“He is very clear in his direction of what he expects from you and yeah, very, very impressed.”