adminI just rolled out of a two-hour nap after today’s chemo session. When I crashed, everything was quiet. When I woke up, David Ornstein had lit up The Athletic with a stunner—per the Ornacle, Spurs are in active talks with Manchester City over a double deal for Savinho AND Egyptian striker Omar Marmoush.
Ornstein’s piece doesn’t get into numbers and says negotiations are ongoing (though “progressing”), but Sky’s Matt Law floats a combined £140m price tag. Earlier chatter had Savinho—who cost City around €50m just last summer—going for upwards of £85m, possibly with add-ons included.
Well, that might explain why Savinho’s move has dragged on so long, even with the Brazilian winger supposedly desperate to join Spurs. It’s a major headline, but sitting with it, and assuming it actually goes through, I’m not sure it feels like a slam-dunk.
I’d pictured Marmoush as younger, but he’s actually 27, and he hasn’t replicated the promise he showed at City since arriving. He was prolific at Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga, but as Haaland’s primary backup, he’s managed just 10 goals in 37 appearances.
I know we shouldn’t read too much into World Cup showings—they’re shaky predictors of club form—but Marmoush was genuinely poor at this summer’s North American tournament.
He started all three group games and Egypt’s Round of 16 penalty win over Australia, yet logged zero goals or assists from 11 shots. Then he was benched for their controversial Round of 16 loss to Argentina (no injury involved), only coming on in the 80th minute for Mohamed Zico.
On the plus side, Marmoush can play through the middle or off the left, which makes you wonder if Spurs see him as a plan-B for Cody Gakpo, who seems unlikely to leave Liverpool right now.
It also raises questions about Richarlison’s future—he’s been linked with an Everton return and Saudi interest, so maybe this paves the way for a summer exit.
I don’t know, folks. Money feels fake at this point, and I’ve stopped caring about FFP/SCR because Spurs are comfortably in the clear. But I can’t shake the sense that this is another classic Tottenham “Premier League tax” overpay—an aging, flawed player who might nudge us forward slightly but won’t age well as a long-term asset.
I still love the Savinho move; I think he could be transformative. Marmoush doesn’t give me that buzz—mostly his age, but also his underwhelming Premier League returns. And that underperformance is probably exactly why City would even consider selling him, but it also blares some warning sirens.
In the same Athletic piece, Jay Harris argues that adding both would make Spurs top-four contenders this season. Maybe. But honestly? My gaze is more on three years from now than on this fall.
Am I off-base? Could be! Marmoush arrived at City with fanfare and has a legit goalscoring résumé in Germany. But he’s getting older, and he hasn’t replicated that production at one of England’s best clubs. Are there underlying factors? Sure. Is he an underrated get? Possibly. Or is he just not as good as the price tag suggests?
That’s the part eating at me.
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