Do we have a double transfer bomba?!
According to David Ornstein, the Ornacle himself, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City have come to an agreement for the transfer of Egyptian forward Omar Marmoush, with a medical scheduled in London:
Ornstein, who’s had a very good track record this summer, has also confirmed some of the rumored details around the transfer, while quashing others. It’s a loan-to-buy arrangement, with a purchase obligation of £50 million and add-ons up to £10 million.
That does seem to potentially put a pin in the whole “overpay / underpay” scheme alongside the Savio transfer that City may have been running to get out of paying a sell-on fee to Eintracht Frankfurt, with conflicting reports coming out in the last few days as to the actual existence of such a clause. Spurs may have just… paid a hefty sum for Savio. Oh well.
As for Marmoush, he’s an interesting signing. He’s another on the slightly older side, and an extremely talented footballer… albeit one that hasn’t quite made it work in England. He’s quick, technical, and creative, but is a little bit of a forward “tweener”: not quite a striker, not quite a winger, not quite an attacking midfielder. Players with that kind of profile aren’t always a huge success in the Premier League.
That said, it seems like Roberto De Zerbi thinks he can get something out of Marmoush, and Spurs have been crying out for something different up front, with Richarlison’s all-round game lacking and Solanke’s goalscoring and ability to actually get on the pitch in question. Spurs have history with Egyptian forwards as well: Mido became a bit of a cult hero at the club around 20 years ago, scoring 19 goals across 61 appearances.
Here’s hoping Marmoush sees a better return in Lilywhite!
