Tottenham's Summer Rebuild: Marmoush Transfer Insights
Tottenham’s summer rebuild is gathering speed, but one of the most intriguing deals of the window has already produced a twist far from north London.
Frankfurt left empty-handed on Marmoush deal
Eintracht Frankfurt will receive no sell-on fee from Omar Marmoush’s move from Manchester City to Tottenham Hotspur, despite speculation that City had structured their business to limit the payout.
Spurs are bringing in both Savio and Marmoush from City this summer, a double deal that sparked talk around the fees involved. Reports suggested City had pushed Savio’s price up to around £75m, supposedly to reduce what they would owe Frankfurt on Marmoush, who left the Bundesliga side in 2025.
Frankfurt have now shut that down. The German club have confirmed they are not due any money as Marmoush changes clubs again. No cut, no clause, no windfall.
The focus now is on what comes next for Spurs – and what Marmoush actually brings to a squad already heavy with forwards.
Spurs’ transfer plan: two in, more to come?
Inside Tottenham, the picture is clear enough. Once Marmoush and Savio complete their switches from City, the next moves will hinge on who leaves.
At the start of the summer, Spurs set themselves an ambitious target: five major signings plus several free transfers to reshape Roberto De Zerbi’s squad. Savio was always pencilled in as a headline arrival. De Zerbi also made it known he wanted a “bomba” signing on top of that.
Marmoush looks like that punchy addition.
Spurs currently have well over 30 senior players on their books, depending on how you classify their academy graduates. Outgoings will decide how many more they can realistically bring in before the window closes, but the plan has never been for Savio and Marmoush to be the end of it.
Marmoush’s City numbers – and the Haaland problem
Strip the noise away and Marmoush’s record at Manchester City is solid.
He scored 16 goals in 62 appearances in all competitions after arriving from Frankfurt. Eight of those came in 36 games in 2025-26, yet his Premier League role shrank sharply.
He started only eight league matches last season and played around 700 minutes – less than he managed in half a campaign the year before. Even so, he still produced three goals and three assists in the league, with an expected goals figure of 3.53. In other words, his finishing stacked up with the chances he got. The issue was volume, not composure.
The reality is simple: he was fighting for scraps in a side built around Erling Haaland, while City kept adding more attacking options around them both. Someone was always going to be squeezed.
A fit for De Zerbi – and a warning for Solanke and Richarlison
Spurs’ need is obvious. Dominic Solanke has battled injury problems over the last 18 months. Richarlison is into the final year of his contract. De Zerbi cannot go into a long season gambling on fitness and expiring deals.
Marmoush is primarily a number nine, but that label barely covers his use over the last few years. At Frankfurt he led the line, dropped in as a second striker and drifted in from the left. City used him in much the same way: mainly through the middle, but also from the flank and in support of another forward.
That sort of flexibility is exactly what De Zerbi tends to build around. It gives him the option of pairing Marmoush with Solanke, rotating him with Richarlison, or unleashing him from wider areas when he wants more direct running.
And Marmoush runs. A lot.
‘Better on the shoulder’ – the numbers behind the threat
Former Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha has watched Marmoush closely and his verdict is blunt.
As comfortable as the forward can look when he drops towards the ball, Onuoha believes Marmoush is at his best when he plays on the shoulder of the last defender. Put him in a team that constantly looks to slide balls in behind, that forces defenders to turn and sprint back towards their own goal, and you see the sharper, more dangerous version of him.
The data backs that up. Opta’s Premier League numbers from last season show Marmoush averaged 11.46 runs in behind per 90 minutes. That’s almost identical to Solanke’s 11.61 and ahead of Richarlison’s 10.03. Crucially, he also offered more with the ball than both.
For a manager who wants speed, aggression and verticality in his front line, those are not minor details. They are selection arguments.
Newcastle turn to Gonzalez after Guimaraes sale
While Spurs fine-tune their attack, Newcastle United are rebuilding the heart of their midfield.
Newcastle have agreed a deal worth up to £52m for Manchester City midfielder Nico Gonzalez, a move that hands head coach Matthias Jaissle the profile he has been asking for.
The club had already been busy. Goalkeepers Lukas Hornicek and Ewen Jaouen, defender Amar Dedic, midfielders Aladji Bamba and Sean Steur and forward Bazoumana Toure have all arrived this summer. A young, continental-heavy recruitment drive, but Jaissle made it clear last week that “adjustments need to be done and will be”.
Selling Bruno Guimaraes to Arsenal hurt. It also created a hole in the middle of the pitch that numbers alone could not fill.
Gonzalez, who joined City from Porto and has spent a season-and-a-half in the Premier League, fits the age and development profile Newcastle want. At 24, he is proven enough to step in immediately yet still seen as a player who can grow under Jaissle.
The metrics explain why Newcastle pushed so hard. Among midfielders who played at least 900 minutes in Europe’s top five leagues last season, Gonzalez led the way for high turnovers per game with 2.13. He also ranked in the Premier League’s top five midfielders for line-breaking passes per match, averaging 12.
Win the ball high, then split lines with it. That blend in and out of possession is exactly what Newcastle need as they look to reset their identity without Guimaraes. Gonzalez will be handed a greater role at St James’ Park from day one.
Forest bet big on Delap
Down at the City Ground, Nottingham Forest are rolling the dice on a striker they believe can lead their line for years.
Forest have agreed a club-record fee worth around £50m to sign Chelsea forward Liam Delap. The 23-year-old is expected to undergo a medical and sign a long-term contract this week.
It is a remarkable rise in value for a player whose path has rarely been smooth.
Delap came through Manchester City’s academy before taking the long road out: loan spells at Stoke, Preston and Hull, then a permanent move to Ipswich Town in 2024 for about £20m. At Ipswich he finally exploded, scoring 12 goals in 37 top-flight appearances and being tipped as a future England international.
Chelsea pounced, paying £30m to beat Manchester United and Everton to his signature last summer. It never truly clicked. Delap scored just one Premier League goal in a campaign disrupted by shoulder and hamstring injuries. The club had also brought in Brazil forward Joao Pedro, adding another obstacle to a clear run of games.
This summer, Chelsea made him available for sale. Forest, convinced the Ipswich version of Delap is still there, have pushed their chips to the middle of the table.
Reshaping the City Ground attack
Forest’s business underlines how radical this window has been for them.
They have already signed defender Ousmane Diomande from Sporting for £34m, and added Austrian midfielder Xaver Schlager and goalkeeper Steve Benda on free transfers. On the outgoing side, they sold England midfielder Elliot Anderson to Manchester City for a club-record £116m and striker Taiwo Awoniyi to Coventry City for £9m.
Delap’s arrival is designed to change the mood in front of goal. In their 1-0 home defeat by Leeds on the opening Premier League weekend, strikers Chris Wood and Igor Jesus both failed to score. Forest cannot afford a repeat of last season’s nervous, low-margin battles for survival.
If Delap settles and stays fit, he gives them power, movement and a penalty-box presence they have lacked since Awoniyi’s best spells.
Chelsea, for their part, have already moved on. They have signed two new strikers this summer: Emmanuel Emegha from Strasbourg and Danny Welbeck from Brighton. The Stamford Bridge rebuild continues, just as Forest’s does, only in a very different direction.
A frantic final week
Across the league, the clock is ticking.
Nottingham Forest are closing in on Delap. Aston Villa are weighing up a move for Jean-Philippe Mateta as they prepare for life after Ollie Watkins. Spurs still have business to complete once Marmoush and Savio walk through the door. Newcastle are reshaping their midfield around Gonzalez.
There is less than a week left in the window. Fees are rising, squads are swelling, and the margins for error are shrinking.
Which club will get the deal that defines their season?
