Daniel Levy must have his face pressed up against the glass, watching on as his beloved Tottenham Hotspur throw their weight around in the transfer market. How dare they.
For so long, it has felt like Spurs have avoided signing the truly elite-level talents, instead dipping into the rung below – a move that almost had catastrophic consequences last season.
And yet, with Roberto De Zerbi now steering the ship, the scales of Tottenham’s ambition can only be marvelled at, with an impending £85m deal for Manchester City’s Savinho certainly raising eyebrows again.
There’s likely to be more where that came from, by all accounts, with the hope being that the lack of initial investment in attack doesn’t come back to bite the Lilywhites this weekend.
Spurs’ predicted lineup vs Brentford shows why more signings are needed
It’s been a summer of positivity and excitement at N17, with there a very real sense that Spurs can do something special this season, particularly with a maverick manager like De Zerbi on board.
Unbeaten in pre-season, the club’s first batch of signings have all bed in nicely, with £100m man Sandro Tonali looking particularly impressive on the summer tour.
The ‘deadwood’ has been shifted too, with polarising skipper, Cristian Romero, finally getting his desired move away, while Guglielmo Vicario has moved out on loan to Juventus after a wretched final year in north London.
That will see Antonin Kinsky giving the honours again against Brentford this weekend, while ahead of him, Jan Paul van Hecke and Marcos Senesi are likely to start together amid the uncertainty over Micky van de Ven’s fitness.
At full-back, World Cup winner Pedro Porro should return on the right, with the experienced Andy Robertson on the other flank, following a lack of action for Destiny Udogie in pre-season.
Partnering Tonali in midfield is likely to be Mateus Fernandes, with Conor Gallagher just ahead, while the greatest intrigue perhaps lies in attack.
On the evidence of recent pre-season meetings, De Zerbi will line up with Mathys Tel, Richarlison and Mikey Moore in the forward line, even with the latter man expected to leave on loan before the deadline.
|
Spurs Predicted XI vs Brentford |
|
|---|---|
|
Position |
Player |
|
GK |
Kinsky |
|
RB |
Porro |
|
CB |
Van Hecke |
|
CB |
Senesi |
|
LB |
Robertson |
|
DM |
Tonali |
|
DM |
Fernandes |
|
RW |
Moore |
|
AM |
Gallagher |
|
LW |
Tel |
|
ST |
Richarlison |
That trio have their merits, yet this can be no long-term solution, with Spurs needing to get back closer to the days of Harry Kane, Heung-min Son and co.
How Spurs can finally replace Son before the deadline
As already noted, the arrival of Savinho for a bumper fee feels rather imminent, the 22-year-old yet another expensive addition for the ENIC regime, despite scoring and assisting just one goal apiece in the Premier League last season.
With Mohammed Kudus set to return to the fold before too long, with the likes of Wilson Odobert and Xavi Simons also still sidelined, the north Londoners will have attacking depth again at some stage.
De Zerbi isn’t a man willing to wait around, however, with the next move also in the pipeline, with Fabrizio Romano – speaking on his YouTube channel – providing the latest on Spurs’ “advancing” deal for Savinho’s club teammate, Omar Marmoush.
“Tottenham and Manchester City, don’t forget Omar Marmoush. It’s not over the summer transfer window for Tottenham because I always told you Savinho, Gakpo and then a striker. Savinho done, Gakpo we will talk in the next days, and then now we have the striker because for Omar Marmoush, Tottenham have an agreement on personal terms done already a few days ago.
“Marmoush is open to joining Tottenham. So this deal is advancing already on player side and then on club to club side my understanding is that it’s not closed yet as Savinho is, but there is a very big optimism to get the deal done.”
In Romano’s view, Marmoush will end Tottenham’s search for a new number nine, but it would be wrong to pigeon-hole the Egyptian in just one position, with his mobility and dynamism opening up a number of options for De Zerbi.
Indeed, the threat he poses in the left channel could suggest he is the replacement for Son that Spurs have been waiting for, a player so lethal from range and on either foot.
It hasn’t been seen enough in a Man City shirt, but the £60m-rated sensation can be so deadly at his best, having earned his move to the Etihad off the back of his free-scoring heroics at Eintracht Frankfurt.
Like Son, who emerged as a young star at Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen, Marmoush also made his name in German football, moving to Wolfsburg from his homeland in 2017.
He scored only six times in 48 games for the club, while spending time out on loan at Stuttgart and St Pauli, yet a free transfer move to Frankfurt in 2023 sparked a remarkable change of fortunes, as he scored and assisted 57 goals in just 67 games.
That record isn’t too dissimilar to what Son achieved back at Leverkusen, racking up 40 goals and assists in 87 games, prior to moving to Tottenham in 2015.
Marmoush was primarily deployed as a number nine, but he did also operate off the left or as more of a second striker, boasting a fluidity and flexibility to his game that is certainly akin to Son.
Indeed, part of the reason behind the decision not to directly replace Kane in 2023 was Ange Postecoglou’s desire to use the South Korean as something of a mobile false nine, the long-serving star able to lead the press and hound defenders, unlike a typical, physical centre-forward.
Marmoush has a similar quality to his game, having been utilised as an alternative to the out-and-out striking figure of Erling Haaland in Manchester.
He’s only scored 16 goals in 62 games at the Etihad, but the 27-year-old feels like someone waiting to explode, already boasting a catalogue of finishes that Son himself would be proud of.
