Tottenham in talks with Manchester City over Omar Marmoush transfer
On 21 August 2026 Tottenham Hotspur entered talks with Manchester City over a potential move for forward Omar Marmoush, with negotiations reported to be progressing between the clubs.
The proposed Marmoush pursuit comes amid a summer of heavy spending at Tottenham, with their outlay looking set to exceed £300m. Spurs have already invested £229.5m on centre-back Jan Paul van Hecke and midfielders Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes, and on Friday agreed a £75m deal to sign Manchester City winger Savinho as they seek further attacking reinforcements. Forward Dominic Solanke has suffered injury problems over the past 18 months and team-mate Richarlison is entering the final year of his contract, factors Spurs appear to be weighing as they assess transfer options.
Marmoush arrived in England having joined Eintracht Frankfurt in May 2023 on a free transfer from Wolfsburg and produced 17 goals across all competitions in his first season. During the first half of 2024-25 he scored 15 Bundesliga goals from 8.9 expected goals (xG) and registered nine assists in 17 league appearances, and across all competitions before leaving Germany he totalled 20 goals and 13 assists in 26 games. Set-pieces were a noted strength: he became the first player in Europe's top five leagues since Lionel Messi in 2019 to score directly from a free-kick in three consecutive competitive matches.
Manchester City paid £59m for Marmoush in January 2025 and he produced several high points early on, including a hat-trick against Newcastle, an FA Cup quarter-final winner at Bournemouth and a long-range Premier League strike against the same opponents that was judged goal of the season. There were also setbacks: with City trailing Crystal Palace in the 2025 FA Cup final Erling Haaland handed Marmoush the penalty, which was saved by Dean Henderson as City went on to lose at Wembley. Reflecting on his time at City, Nedum Onuoha said: "When I see Marmoush, I don't see the penalty miss," and "I see the strength he has with some of the runs he makes in behind." Shearer was also reported as saying he "can't believe" Haaland gave Marmoush the penalty.
Marmoush's overall output for City reads 16 goals in 62 appearances across all competitions since his move from Frankfurt. Eight of those goals came in 36 appearances in 2025-26, but his Premier League involvement declined: he started only eight league games and played around 700 minutes, fewer than he managed after joining midway through the prior campaign. His league return was three goals and three assists, with a 3.53 expected goals figure close to his actual scoring output. Onuoha highlighted the challenge Marmoush faced for minutes at City: "All the positions Marmoush could play are being filled by people who are specialists in those roles," and "Haaland is essentially always going to be the number nine, while City also regularly play with number 10s and Guardiola likes his wingers to stay wide."
The player profile suggests a different attacking option to Tottenham's current forwards. Marmoush has been deployed across the front line—primarily as a central attacker but also from the left and as a second striker—and his movement and ball-carrying suit systems where forwards swap positions. "As much as he is good dropping towards the ball, I think he is better when he plays on the shoulder," Onuoha said. Opta's Premier League numbers from last season show Marmoush averaged 11.46 runs in behind per 90 minutes, compared with Solanke's 11.61 and Richarlison's 10.03, while he posted 5.67 progressive carries per 90 versus 3.24 for Solanke and 2.48 for Richarlison. Marmoush also led both Tottenham forwards in shots (3.86 per 90 versus Richarlison's 2.81 and Solanke's 1.80), chances created (1.55 against 0.92 and 0.54) and touches in the opposition penalty area, producing 0.77 goals and assists per game compared with Richarlison's 0.69 and Solanke's 0.27; the analysis notes the sample is smaller because of his limited league minutes.
Observers see tactical possibilities for pairing Marmoush with Solanke rather than replacing him outright. Marmoush's experience playing off another attacker and his capacity to drop between the lines could enable combinations with a more physical centre-forward, a pattern Onuoha outlined: "Solanke is different to Marmoush. He's got more of a physical presence," and "I could see the goalkeeper playing a flat ball into Solanke, Marmoush coming underneath him to receive it, and that becoming the start of the attack. The two of them could complement each other. Playing in a front two might bring out more of Marmoush's strengths." The profile also suggests he could be useful when opponents sit deep and limit space for Tottenham to attack directly.
Talks are reported to be ongoing but no agreement has yet been reached between Tottenham and Manchester City over Marmoush's transfer.
