Tottenham Targets Omar Marmoush and Savinho for Transfer Boost

Tottenham are pushing hard on two fronts. With the transfer window ticking towards its 1 September deadline, Spurs are trying to pull off a double move for Omar Marmoush and Savinho to arm Roberto De Zerbi for his first season in charge.

The price of that ambition is steep. The combined outlay for Marmoush and Savinho could climb to, or even beyond, £140 million. For a club already reshaping itself around a new head coach and a new style, it would be a statement that cuts across the rest of the Premier League.

City leave Savinho out as tension grows

At Manchester City, the situation is already tense. Savinho was left out of the squad entirely for City’s Premier League opener against Bournemouth, a notable omission for a player who had featured in all of their pre-season games.

Enzo Maresca explained the absence by pointing to illness, saying Savinho had missed training three days before the match because he was “a little bit ill”. The timing, though, sits awkwardly against the backdrop of his desire to go.

City’s new head coach did not hide the contrast between his two forwards.

“Omar is still here, still with us, it's a different situation to Savio and we see,” Maresca said. “Savio, since day one, asked to leave, and Omar didn't ask to leave since day one, not yet.

“It's always complicated when someone leaves, and one has to arrive. We'll see if Omar stays or what happens.”

Savinho’s stance has been firm, and Maresca spelled out the difficulty of trying to row back from that.

“It’s quite clear that when players want to leave for any reason, it is complicated to convince them to stay and to change,” the Italian added. “It happened with Rodri, the same is happening with Savinho.

“Since day one, he has been clear that he wants to leave. Now we are waiting. It's complicated when players are clear they want a new challenge, or they want to go to Spain or play more minutes, it becomes complicated to convince them to stay.”

Marmoush, by contrast, was on the bench for the Community Shield against Arsenal last weekend and came on as a substitute. He remains involved, available, and — at least publicly — undecided about his next step.

De Zerbi waits, and pushes

On the other side of this tug-of-war stands De Zerbi, trying to reshape Tottenham at speed while the market swirls around him.

Asked directly about Savinho in his pre-match press conference, the Italian refused to cross the line into open transfer talk.

“It's not right to speak about the players until they are official,” he said. “Just to say, I'm very happy. We have not finished yet in the transfer market.”

The message was clear enough. De Zerbi wants more, and he expects more before the window shuts.

After a bruising 3-0 defeat to Brentford, he broadened the focus, pointing to the backing he has received from the club’s ownership and the scale of the project he believes is under way.

“I am very happy and I think I can't speak about the other coaches [in the past],” he said of the Lewis family. “I just can say, in my experience, they kept their word, they kept what they said before I came in March, the end of March, in the middle of March, and then very happy.

“But what we are doing is not for the coach. It’s for the club, for the fans, for the history of the club, for the pride of the club, and for the level of the club. I think this moment is crucial for this club, because after two seasons like we had, we have to change the mood, completely change it, give it a boost.

“Then, I think when we have finished in this transfer market, for a long time we don't need many things and we can work all together in the right condition, in the right direction, to build step by step something special, or to go to compete for the top of the table.”

For that vision to take shape quickly, Tottenham need firepower and flair. Marmoush and Savinho would bring exactly that. The clock is running, the money is on the table, and City know the players’ intentions.

Now it comes down to how far Spurs are willing to go — and how long City can hold their nerve.