Tottenham's Summer Transfer Update: Marmoush and Savio Arrive

Tottenham’s summer shake-up is gathering pace – and it comes with a twist in the small print of one of their headline deals.

No payday for Frankfurt in Marmoush move

Eintracht Frankfurt will not receive a sell-on fee from Omar Marmoush’s transfer from Manchester City to Tottenham Hotspur, despite recent speculation around the structure of the deal.

There had been talk that City had inflated the £75m fee Spurs are paying for Savio to limit what they owed Frankfurt on Marmoush, who left the Bundesliga club for Manchester in 2025. The theory was simple: push up Savio’s price, push down Marmoush’s, and reduce the cut due to Frankfurt.

Frankfurt have now knocked that down. The German side have confirmed they are not due anything as Marmoush moves again, ending the intrigue over a potential windfall.

Spurs’ shopping list – and the ‘bomba’ signing

So where does that leave Tottenham’s wider rebuild?

At the start of the summer, the plan was clear: five major signings, topped up by free transfers, to reshape Roberto De Zerbi’s squad. With Savio and Marmoush arriving from City, the core of that plan is taking shape, but the rest of the window will be dictated by outgoings.

Spurs currently have well over 30 senior players on their books, depending on which academy graduates are counted. Sales will have to bite before more big fees go out.

De Zerbi publicly called for a “bomba” signing alongside Savio. Marmoush, given his profile and price, fits that description as well as anyone. He may not have been a guaranteed starter at City, but he walks into north London as a statement of intent.

What Marmoush brings to Tottenham

Omar Marmoush arrives with solid, if not spectacular, numbers from his time at Manchester City. He scored 16 goals in 62 appearances in all competitions after joining from Frankfurt, eight of those in 36 outings in the 2025-26 campaign.

His Premier League minutes, though, dried up. Last season he started only eight league matches, logging around 700 minutes – less than he managed after arriving midway through the previous year. Even so, he still produced three goals and three assists in the league, with an expected goals figure of 3.53, almost perfectly aligned with his actual return. The problem was not wastefulness. It was opportunity.

Competing for minutes in a side built around Erling Haaland, and then watching City add even more attacking depth, Marmoush found himself squeezed. Spurs, by contrast, need him.

Dominic Solanke has battled injury issues for 18 months. Richarlison is into the final year of his contract. De Zerbi requires a reliable, mobile forward who can both finish and stretch defences.

Marmoush is primarily a number nine, but he is no static penalty-box striker. At Frankfurt he led the line through the middle, drifted off the left, and operated as a second striker. City used him in similar fashion: mainly central, sometimes from the flank, occasionally just off another forward. That positional elasticity should suit De Zerbi’s fluid front line.

Former Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha believes there is a clear blueprint for getting the best out of him.

As Onuoha sees it, Marmoush is at his most dangerous playing on the shoulder of the last defender. He can drop towards the ball, but his real threat comes when a team consistently slides passes in behind and forces defenders to turn and chase. Give him that, and a different Marmoush appears.

The numbers back it up. Opta data from last season shows Marmoush averaged 11.46 runs in behind per 90 minutes in the Premier League – almost identical to Solanke’s 11.61 and ahead of Richarlison’s 10.03. He also offered more on the ball than either of them.

For De Zerbi, who wants vertical football and relentless movement, that profile is gold.

Newcastle turn to Gonzalez after Guimaraes sale

While Spurs reshape their attack, Newcastle are rebuilding the heart of their midfield.

Newcastle United have agreed a deal worth up to £52m for Manchester City midfielder Nico Gonzalez. All six of their signings before this point – goalkeepers Lukas Hornicek and Ewen Jaouen, defender Amar Dedic, midfielders Aladji Bamba and Sean Steur, and forward Bazoumana Toure – arrived from the continent.

The club, though, have recognised the need for Premier League experience after losing Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali, Anthony Gordon and Kieran Trippier in recent months. Gonzalez, 24, has only spent a season-and-a-half in the division since joining from Porto, but he fits the age and development profile head coach Matthias Jaissle has been demanding.

Jaissle said last week that “adjustments need to be done and will be”. Gonzalez is central to that adjustment.

Last season, among midfielders who played at least 900 minutes in Europe’s top five leagues, Gonzalez led the way for high turnovers per game with 2.13. He also ranked among the Premier League’s top five midfielders for line-breaking passes per match, averaging 12.

Those traits – winning the ball high and then slicing teams open – are exactly what Newcastle have been searching for since reluctantly cashing in on Guimaraes. Gonzalez now walks into a bigger role at St James’ Park, the kind of move that would have been out of reach for Newcastle not so long ago.

Forest’s £50m gamble on Delap

Nottingham Forest, meanwhile, are betting big on a striker whose career has already taken a few sharp turns.

Forest have agreed a club-record fee worth around £50m to sign Chelsea forward Liam Delap. The 23-year-old is due to undergo a medical and sign a long-term deal at the City Ground this week.

Delap’s journey has been anything but straightforward. He came through Manchester City’s academy, then went on loan to Stoke, Preston and Hull before securing a permanent move to Ipswich Town in 2024 for about £20m. There, he hit 12 goals in 37 Premier League appearances and was tipped as a future England international.

Chelsea pounced, paying £30m to sign him amid competition from Manchester United and Everton. But his time at Stamford Bridge stalled. A shoulder problem and hamstring injuries wrecked his rhythm, and the club’s decision to also sign Brazil forward Joao Pedro limited his opportunities. He finished last season with just one Premier League goal.

Chelsea’s response this summer was ruthless: Delap was made available for sale, while the club brought in Emmanuel Emegha from Strasbourg and Danny Welbeck from Brighton to refresh their forward line.

Forest see something different. A £50m fee signals their belief that Delap can rediscover his Ipswich form and become a regular Premier League scorer again.

They need him. Steve Cooper’s side have already invested £34m in defender Ousmane Diomande from Sporting and added Austrian midfielder Xaver Schlager and goalkeeper Steve Benda on free transfers. They have also sanctioned major exits, selling England midfielder Elliot Anderson to Manchester City for a club-record £116m and striker Taiwo Awoniyi to Coventry City for £9m.

Up front, the early signs of the season were worrying. Chris Wood and Igor Jesus both drew blanks in Forest’s 1-0 home defeat by Leeds on the opening weekend. Delap is arriving to change that picture.

A frantic final week

With less than a week left in the transfer window, the Premier League’s late scramble is in full swing.

Tottenham are trying to finish off their attacking overhaul around Savio and Marmoush. Newcastle are banking on Gonzalez to anchor a new-look midfield. Forest are staking a club-record fee on Delap’s resurgence.

Aston Villa, for their part, are weighing up a move for Jean-Philippe Mateta as they prepare for life after Ollie Watkins.

Deals are being pushed over the line, squads are being ripped up and rebuilt, and the margins for error are shrinking by the day. By the time the window closes, how many of these bold bets will look like masterstrokes – and how many will define a season for all the wrong reasons?