Tottenham's Bomba Hunt: De Zerbi's Search for a Striker

Roberto De Zerbi lit the fuse with a single word.

“Bomba.”

One hint was all it took to send Tottenham supporters scouring social media and message boards, desperate to unmask the mystery signing their head coach insists is close to arriving in north London.

Spurs have already spent a club-record £237million this summer and brought in six new faces, yet De Zerbi says only “60 per cent” of the job is done. For a club that has spent the past two seasons glancing nervously over its shoulder, the Italian wants more firepower – and quickly.

The plan was clear. Eli Junior Kroupi, Bournemouth’s 20-year-old forward, had been a key target. That pursuit collapsed when a foot injury required surgery and ruled him out for up to four months. The door slammed shut, the search swung elsewhere, and Tottenham’s recruitment team went back to the board.

Now, with De Zerbi demanding at least one more attacker and potentially two or three signings in total, a shortlist has taken shape. Five names stand out.

Deniz Undav – the late bloomer tearing up the Bundesliga

If De Zerbi wants guaranteed end product, Deniz Undav makes a compelling case.

The German striker never quite became a headline act at Brighton, though he did leave his mark – that delicate lob at Arsenal in 2023 lingers in the memory – but his move to Stuttgart transformed him. Back home, he erupted.

Nineteen Bundesliga goals last season. A strike rate of 0.76 goals per 90 minutes. Among strikers in Europe’s top five leagues, that return placed him seventh for total goals and sixth for goals per 90. That is elite company.

He carried that ruthless streak into the World Cup, too, operating as Germany’s super-sub and still finding a way to shape games: three goals and two assists in just 69 group-stage minutes. Impact football at its purest.

Undav is technically sharp, comfortable dropping off the front line, linking with midfield and releasing runners from wide – exactly the sort of centre-forward De Zerbi favours in his fluid, winger-heavy system. The concern is obvious: he is 30.

For some clubs, that age profile would close the file. De Zerbi, though, has already shown he is happy to lean on proven quality over distant promise. If Spurs want a striker who can walk straight into the team and score, Undav is hard to ignore.

Brian Brobbey – the battering ram who already bruised Spurs

Tottenham do not need to imagine what Brian Brobbey might look like in a De Zerbi side. They have felt it.

The Sunderland and Netherlands forward bullied them at their own stadium in January, scoring in a 1-1 draw at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Weeks earlier, in De Zerbi’s first match in charge, Brobbey had led the line in a 1-0 win for Sunderland at the Stadium of Light, dominating seasoned defenders and setting the tone for a grim afternoon for Spurs.

He has just come off a superb debut Premier League season and carried that form into the World Cup. Leading the line for the Netherlands, Brobbey scored three times as they topped their group, blending muscular hold-up play with a predator’s instinct to follow the ball and attack the box. Their run ended on penalties to Morocco in the last 16, but his stock only rose.

What makes him such a fit for De Zerbi is the relentlessness. Brobbey presses, harries, crashes into centre-backs and never lets them settle. For a coach intent on installing an aggressive, front-foot pressing game at Tottenham, that profile is gold.

Spurs already know how much damage his physicality can cause. The question is whether they are willing to pay to have that weapon on their side rather than braced against it.

Omar Marmoush – a City misfit who still carries a threat

Omar Marmoush is the one name on this list Tottenham have already been linked with. The interest is real.

The Egyptian forward arrived at Manchester City from Eintracht Frankfurt in January 2025 and initially looked like he belonged. He hit the ground running, adapting quickly to the Premier League’s pace and physicality. Then the goals dried up.

Last season, his first full campaign at City, brought just three league goals. In a squad overflowing with attacking options, that return has left him on the outside, now considered surplus to requirements.

Strip away the frustration, though, and the profile remains attractive. Marmoush can drop deep, spin in behind, and operate across the front line. There is enough versatility there to give De Zerbi options – as long as he believes he can rebuild the player’s confidence in front of goal.

Crucially, Marmoush has already shown he can score consistently at this level, even if the most recent numbers do not shine. At 27, he sits right in the age bracket De Zerbi wants for instant impact. Tottenham are not building for three years’ time; they are trying to slam the door on any lingering relegation fears and push towards the top six now.

If Spurs were to pair Marmoush with another attacking arrival, the perception of their ambition this summer would shift sharply.

Savinho – raw pace, rough edges, huge upside

Savinho has hovered around Tottenham’s radar for some time. This is not a new name. What has changed is the context.

The Brazilian winger is widely viewed as a potential supporting act to De Zerbi’s mystery “bomba” signing rather than the headline itself. Yet his profile reads like a wish list for this Spurs manager: electric acceleration, direct running, and a constant desire to drive at full-backs.

He is said to be keen on a move to north London, and stylistically it makes sense. The numbers, though, underline how much work lies ahead. Just one league goal last season. For a wide player with his tools, that output is far from enough.

Savinho gets into promising positions, stretches defences and drags markers out of shape, but he lacks composure in the final third. That is the part of his game De Zerbi would need to sculpt. Given the Italian’s track record of improving attackers, it is the kind of project he is likely to relish.

If Tottenham were to land Savinho and Marmoush together, the message to the rest of the league would be unmistakable: this is no longer a team simply trying to stay afloat. Expectations of a top-six push would harden.

Bradley Barcola – the fantasy that would change everything

De Zerbi tried to water down the hysteria around his “bomba” remark at his pre-Chelsea press conference. He defined it simply: a player with top-level ability.

Few fit that description more convincingly than Bradley Barcola.

The Paris Saint-Germain winger wants out in search of more minutes, squeezed by a PSG squad stacked with attacking stars. He has already won the Champions League twice and is a key target for Liverpool this summer. That is the level we are talking about.

This is the dream scenario, the one that lives in supporters’ imaginations rather than in any current reality. There is no indication Spurs are close to a deal, or even in a position to pull it off. If they somehow did, it would be a signing that would jolt the entire Premier League.

Barcola is not simply a victim of an overstocked dressing room. His talent is undeniable: pace, balance, end product, and the temperament to perform on the biggest stage. For Tottenham, landing him would be a statement unlike any in their modern history.

As it stands, he looks destined to become collateral damage in PSG’s abundance. Whether Spurs can turn that into an opportunity feels improbable – but not impossible enough for fans to stop dreaming.

The identity of De Zerbi’s “bomba” remains locked away for now. What is clear is the intent: Tottenham are no longer content with survival and sporadic flourishes. They are shopping at a higher level, chasing goals, personality and presence up front.

When the mystery finally walks through the doors at Hotspur Way, the rest of the league will discover whether this is just another rebuild – or the moment Spurs genuinely crash the Premier League’s top table.