Spurs could still sign “one of the best CFs in Europe”

Today’s the day then. All the talk, all the transfer speculation will go out the window for 90 minutes, as Tottenham Hotspur take on Brentford at the Gtech.

The Lilywhites know more than most that strong starts can be deceiving, having notably gone ten games unbeaten in 2023/24, only for things to swiftly unravel as Ange Postecoglou’s men missed out on Champions League football.

Even the much-maligned Thomas Frank, formerly of Bees fame, had also steered the Lilywhites to third after nine Premier League games last season. We all know how that ended.

It would be wrong then to read too much into this weekend’s clash, particularly with Roberto De Zerbi‘s squad still not complete amid the expected arrival of Savinho and Omar Marmoush from Manchester City.

Analysing Marmoush and Savinho’s Premier League record so far

It’s taken until late in the day, yet finally moves are being made to strengthen De Zerbi’s forward line, with an £85m move for Savinho now imminent.

Let’s face it, that is an eye-watering sum of money for a player who has, checks notes, scored just two Premier League goals in his two seasons at the Etihad, yet to really convince in English football so far.

That’s not to say the Brazilian has been a total disaster in Manchester, with his debut campaign ending with eight assists chalked up in the top flight, as he created 11 ‘big chances’ that year under Pep Guardiola’s watch.

There are also reasons behind his lack of impact last season, having been restricted to a mere nine league starts, falling behind a stellar cast of wingers such as Jeremy Doku and Antoine Semenyo.

That is no disgrace, in truth, with the same also true of Omar Marmoush, the Egyptian’s greatest crime being that he simply isn’t better than the division’s best number nine, Erling Haaland.

In 14 games in 2024/25, after signing in the January, the 27-year-old did notch an impressive haul of seven goals, making an immediate impression following his arrival from Eintracht Frankfurt.

Like Savinho, however, second-season syndrome kicked in last time out, having himself been restricted to only eight starts, becoming something of a forgotten man in Guardiola’s ranks.

The Lilywhites are then largely gambling on what the pair have shown previously at Girona and Frankfurt, respectively, with there perhaps still room for someone with a little more proven Premier League nous.

Why Spurs could still sign an elite number nine alongside Marmoush

The talk is that ENIC want three new forwards in before the deadline, that trio likely to consist of two wingers and a number nine to rival Dominic Solanke and Richarlison.

Quite where Savinho and Marmoush will be utilised remains to be seen, with the former comfortable on either flank, while the latter can operate off the left, even while having largely been a mobile, central striker in Germany.

Perhaps the Egyptian is the striker De Zerbi is crying out for, yet if Spurs really want an almost guarantee of goals, then Crystal Palace’s Jean-Philippe Mateta could well be the man.

As per Football Insider, the north London side are said to be eyeing a move for the talismanic Frenchman, with Palace likely to find it difficult to turn down a significant offer considering the striker’s contract status.

The 29-year-old’s existing deal expires next year, and having seen a move to AC Milan collapse in January, it does feel like Mateta is destined to depart in the near future.

Marmoush, as he showed when netting 37 goals in 67 games for Frankfurt, is a real asset in front of goal, but he’s yet to really translate that form to England.

In Mateta’s case, the former Mainz star initially endured his own slow start in the Premier League after signing in 2021, yet he’s since proven himself to be “one of the best strikers in Europe“, in the view of Wayne Rooney.

Such praise isn’t without merit, with Mateta having scored 12 or more goals in each of the last three Premier League seasons, netting 42 times in total in that period.

Last term, for instance, he scored 12 in just 25 starts at Selhurst Park, well ahead of Marmoush’s return of three for the Citizens. He also netted at a rate of one every 185 minutes, while the City man averaged just one every 245 minutes, by comparison.

Mateta’s most prolific campaign came in 2023/24, when he scored 16 league goals for the Eagles. That same season, meanwhile, saw Marmoush score just 12 times in his first season at Frankfurt.

Of course, across 2024/25, Marmoush did net 22 league goals for his former club and for City, yet it’s been rather underwhelming since then, while Mateta has maintained his rampant form in south London.

Perhaps De Zerbi desires a more fluid, mobile striker, and there is wisdom in that, yet at a time when the likes of Solanke and Richarlison have floundered, could they not do with a man who generates such a multitude of chances, in the form of Mateta?

Since the start of 2023/24, only five players have scored more Premier League goals than the Palace hero. That says it all really, doesn’t it?