Tottenham's £140m Double Deal for Marmoush and Savinho
Tottenham are pushing hard on two fronts as the transfer window ticks towards its 1 September deadline, with Omar Marmoush and Savinho at the centre of an increasingly tense stand-off with Manchester City.
Spurs want both. And they want them now.
Spurs eye £140m double swoop
Tottenham are working on a double deal for Marmoush and Savinho that could climb to, or even exceed, £140million. The club are trying to arm Roberto De Zerbi with major attacking reinforcements before the window shuts, and the intent is clear: land both forwards in the coming days.
Marmoush, involved off the bench in the Community Shield against Arsenal last weekend, is among the substitutes again for City’s Premier League opener against Bournemouth. Savinho is nowhere to be seen.
That absence is not down to transfer talks, at least not officially.
City head coach Enzo Maresca revealed Savinho missed training three days before the Bournemouth game because he was “a little bit ill”. The winger had featured in all of City’s pre-season matches until that point, only to disappear from the matchday squad on opening weekend.
The contrast with Marmoush is striking. One is still in the squad. The other is already on the outside.
Maresca lays out the dilemma
Maresca did not hide the different situations when asked about the pair.
“Omar is still here, still with us, it's a different situation to Savio and we see,” he 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.”
The Italian went further, making it clear how firmly Savinho has pushed for a move.
“It's quite clear that when players want to leave for any reason, it is complicated to convince them to stay and to change. 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.”
The message is blunt: Savinho wants out, and City are braced for it. Marmoush, for now, is different. For now.
De Zerbi keeps his cards close
On the other side of this tug-of-war, De Zerbi is choosing his words carefully. Asked directly about Savinho in his pre-match press conference, the Tottenham head coach refused to be drawn into specifics.
“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.”
He knows what he wants. He also knows the window still has days to run and negotiations can turn quickly.
After a bruising 3-0 defeat to Brentford, De Zerbi broadened the conversation, turning it towards Tottenham’s long-term project and the backing he has received from the club’s ownership, the Lewis family.
“I am very happy and I think I can't speak about the other coaches [in the past],” he said. “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.”
That “boost” may well arrive in the form of Marmoush and Savinho.
A crucial window for Tottenham’s future
De Zerbi made it clear this is about more than one window or one big spend.
“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.”
That is the bar he is setting. Compete at the top. Not just visit it.
For that to happen, Tottenham need firepower and depth. Marmoush, still in City’s plans but not pushing to leave, sits in a delicate position. Savinho, adamant about a new challenge, is already halfway out of the door.
Spurs are trying to pull both through it. The clock is ticking.
