Spurs open Man City talks over Savinho and Marmoush as Tottenham hunt attacking reinforcements

Tottenham have begun talks with Manchester City about bringing both Savinho and Omar Marmoush to north London in what would be a rare double raid on the Premier League champions. Sources at the club have indicated the dialogue is advancing, though no deal has been thrashed out yet.

A signing finally pursued after almost a year

The interest in the Brazilian winger is nothing new. Spurs first tracked Savinho back in 2025, when the then-22-year-old chose to stay at the Etihad Stadium rather than move across town. A season later, however, the picture looks rather different. He made only seven league starts in the campaign just gone, and is now thought to favour a departure — this despite arriving from Troyes for £30m in 2024.

Marmoush is in a similar bind. He cost City £59m when he joined from Eintracht Frankfurt in 2025, but fell out of favour under Pep Guardiola during the 2025-26 season, managing eight goals across 36 outings in all competitions.

What the champions might command for the pair has not been made public, but the expectation at the Etihad is that they will bank a healthy profit on both players should a deal come off.

De Zerbi’s rebuild reaches the front line

For Tottenham’s head coach Roberto de Zerbi, this represents the next stage of a thorough summer overhaul. The Italian has already reworked his engine room, landing Mateus Fernandes from West Ham, and adding Sandro Tonali from Newcastle in a pair of deals worth £185m between them. Now he wants the club to address the other end of the pitch.

The reason is plain enough. Spurs finished one place above the drop in 17th last season, scoring just 48 times in 38 league matches — the kind of return no side with designs on climbing back up the table can tolerate. Adding genuine thrust out wide and through the middle has become the priority.

There is further ambition beyond the two City forwards. Tottenham are also keen on Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo, although it remains to be seen whether the club could fund that move on top of deals for Savinho and Marmoush. All options appear to be on the table as the window enters its final days.

City shedding assets after a quiet market

Manchester City, for their part, have already waved goodbye to a sizeable chunk of their squad this summer. Rodri, the midfielder Tijjani Reijnders and reserve keeper James Trafford have all moved on as a new-look spine takes shape, and the champions could yet sanction further departures before the deadline closes.

The timing adds a little edge to the weekend’s fixtures. Spurs kick off their league campaign away at Brentford on Saturday tea-time, while City welcome Bournemouth to the Etihad the following afternoon — two matches that may now carry the subtext of transfer business still to be settled behind the scenes.

For the neutrals, a double capture at this stage of the window would be a statement of intent from a side desperate to bounce back. For City, it would represent more sensible recouping from a squad already being reshaped on Guardiola’s terms. The next few days will decide how much of it becomes reality.