Tottenham's Summer Signings: Savio and Marmoush Excite De Zerbi
Roberto De Zerbi did not bother hiding his excitement. Tottenham’s head coach called Savio and Omar Marmoush “bomba” signings, and given the scale of Spurs’ summer, it is hard to argue.
After weeks of negotiation, Spurs finally landed long-term target Savio from Manchester City in a deal worth £85million. Wrapped into the same piece of business came Marmoush, arriving on a season-long loan with an obligation to buy that could eventually push his fee towards £60m.
Add those numbers to what has already gone out of the door and Tottenham’s summer spend has surged past £350m. Even De Zerbi, a demanding operator who rarely looks satisfied for long, admitted this window has gone beyond what he imagined.
“I didn’t expect one transfer market and one window like we have done,” he said before Newcastle visit north London in the Premier League on Saturday.
And yet he is still looking for one more. One specific position. One final piece.
“I think we can do one player more and in one specific position,” he revealed, explaining that a dinner with the club’s powerbrokers — the owners, Vinai Venkatesham, Johan Lange and Enrico Venturelli — left everyone aligned on the plan. The message from that table: the recruitment drive is aggressive, but coherent.
“Bomba” in the final third
Marmoush becomes Tottenham’s eighth signing of the summer and arrives as exactly what De Zerbi craves most: another problem for opposition defenders.
He offers cover and competition across the front line and, crucially, as an alternative number 10. James Maddison is still short of full sharpness. Mohammed Kudus is only just back from a long tendon injury. De Zerbi wanted another high-level attacker who can both score and knit the play. Marmoush fits the brief.
His numbers back that up. The forward hit 37 goals in a prolific 18-month spell at Eintracht Frankfurt, then added 16 more at Manchester City. That kind of output explains why Tottenham were prepared to commit to a potentially huge fee, even if he is likely to begin Saturday’s match on the bench.
“A great signing for us. A great player, another great player and every one of us loves him as a player,” De Zerbi said. “We hope he can do what he is able. I think he can give more solutions in attack. We need players in attack capable to score goals, to play well with the ball also, a very fast player, great qualities and we are all happy.
“I think he can play as a central striker. He is a different number 10 than Conor Gallagher or Maddison, more of an attacker, but he is a player of big qualities. The most important thing is to have players with qualities.”
That line sums up the entire window. De Zerbi has pushed for pure talent, players who can tilt games rather than simply fill roles. Savio, Marmoush, Kudus, Maddison, Gallagher — different profiles, same idea: raise the technical ceiling and the threat level.
New faces, new hierarchy
The 5-1 Carabao Cup win over Charlton in midweek gave a glimpse of what is coming. New captain Micky van de Ven and Pedro Porro both featured and could keep their places against Newcastle. Savio is being readied for a full debut. Kudus, out since January, is finally close to a return to competitive action and may make the squad.
Tottenham’s dressing room has changed quickly. So has the hierarchy. Van de Ven now wears the armband. Attacking options have multiplied. Training sessions will be brutal for anyone not at full tilt.
Inside that environment, some futures remain cloudy. Pape Sarr is still available for selection, but his situation hangs over the final days of the window.
“Pape? No, he’s good. We have to see in the last day of the transfer market what can happen with him,” De Zerbi said.
Then came the blunt edge that has already become a hallmark of his management.
“If you want to leave and you have not found the offer, it’s your problem, not my problem. I give respect, I kiss you, I hug you, but at the end have to stay calm inside the dressing room.”
The message is clear. Tottenham are moving at speed, on and off the pitch. The club have spent big, backed their head coach and flooded the squad with attacking quality. Those who stay must keep pace, or be left behind as De Zerbi’s “bomba” project detonates properly over the coming months.
