Marmoush was an unused substitute on Sunday, and on Monday he was in London for a Tottenham medical

Omar Marmoush watched Manchester City beat Bournemouth 2-1 on Sunday without leaving the bench. On Monday he was in London for a medical at Tottenham, who have agreed a season-long loan for the Egypt forward with an option to buy him for £50m. That option turns into an obligation once certain conditions on his side are met.

It is the second City forward Spurs have agreed a deal for inside four days.

How a £59m signing ended up as an unused substitute

City paid Eintracht Frankfurt an initial £59m for Marmoush in January 2025 and gave him a four-and-a-half-year contract. He was 25, he had scored 37 goals in 67 games in Germany, and he arrived in the middle of a season City were already losing their grip on.

Nineteen months later he has managed only a modest return in a City shirt. That is not a disaster, and it is not an argument for keeping him either. What changed around him was bigger than his own form. Pep Guardiola left after ten years, and Enzo Maresca was appointed on a three-year deal at the end of June.

Marmoush’s August under the new coach has been quiet. He came on for Erling Haaland in the 53rd minute of the Community Shield in Cardiff on 16 August, a game Arsenal won 3-0. Seven days later, at the Etihad, he did not get on at all.

What Tottenham want him for

Roberto De Zerbi’s first summer at Spurs has been the most expensive in the club’s history. Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes cost a combined £185m. Jan Paul van Hecke came from Brighton for £52m. Marcos Senesi, Andy Robertson and Martin Dubravka arrived on frees. On Friday the club agreed a deal for Savinho worth an initial £75m plus £10m in add-ons, which would be the largest sale Manchester City have ever made.

Then the season started. Brentford beat them 3-0 on Saturday, and Tottenham did not put a shot on target in the first half.

Marmoush is a fix for the shape of that problem rather than one position in it. He can lead the line alone, play off Richarlison or Dominic Solanke, or start wide and come inside. De Zerbi has bought a lot of midfield this summer. He has not, until now, bought much that runs in behind.

The £50m clause is the interesting part. Spurs have structured it so the money only becomes compulsory if Marmoush does what they are signing him to do, which is a reasonable way to buy a forward who has spent most of a year not playing. City, meanwhile, move a big fee off the wage bill without booking the loss today.

Newcastle come to north London on Saturday. If the medical goes as expected, that is the first look at whether any of this works.

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