Tottenham Hotspur

Flora Snelson
BBC Sport journalist

Spurs boss Roberto de Zerbi has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Newcastle at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (kick-off 17:30).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• New signing Omar Marmoush is available to play, as is Micky van de Ven. Mohammed Kudus may have to come off the bench. James Maddison is a doubt after experiencing pain in his left shoulder during the Brentford defeat.

• Marmoush is "a very smart player who understands football like a coach". De Zerbi said the Egyptian has qualities no-one else on the squad has, and that he could play as a central striker or a number 10.

• De Zerbi said that he is "very happy" with Spurs' transfer business so far, that it has exceeded the expectation he had at the start of the window.

• He praised the potential of the young players they have brought in, as well as the "atmosphere and behaviour" which arrived with the more experienced players Spurs have attracted during the window.

• Asked about further business to be done, De Zerbi suggested "one player more in one specific position" and noted that he and the owner went for dinner on Thursday and they are on the same page.

• On players knowing their place in the squad: "I've been very clear with players, I've told players that if you speak clearly from the beginning, you can't expect surprise. To stay here, they have to feel happy and proud. It's a long and emotional season because we are building a new project with new players. We need the right spirit, first of all, then the right qualities and the organisation of the play."

• On players who might want to leave: "If you want to leave and you have not found an offer, it's your problem, not mine. I give respect, I kiss you, I hug you and you have to stay calm inside of the dressing room - not speak too much - because the rules have been clear from the beginning and the end. It's not my problem."

• He believes the rules around balancing foreign and homegrown players in each squad are "right".

• De Zerbi acknowledged that his team "have to play better, much better" than they did against Brentford.

• He clarified that Spurs need time "to play our best" but that they still have the quality to win the game.

• On Pape Matar Sarr: "He's good, [but] we have to see in the last day of the market what can happen with him."

• On Maddison: "With James, I think we have to find the right plan. He is really positive guy. We are lucky to have James in our team."

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New Tottenham signing Omar Marmoush says the project under Roberto de Zerbi was "very attractive for me".

The 27-year-old Egypt forward has signed on a season-long loan from Manchester City, with an obligation to buy next summer.

He is the second played to join Spurs from City this summer, after Savio's £75m move.

"It feels amazing to be here," he told club media. "I'm so excited to get started with the team and I can't wait to meet the fans.

"Tottenham Hotspur is one of the biggest clubs in England, if not the world, and the project was very attractive to me.

"I've spoken with the head coach, I loved what he had to say and I'm sure our passion for the game will go very well together."

Marmoush scored 16 goals in 62 appearances for City following his move from Eintracht Frankfurt in January 2025, but had to play second fiddle to Erling Haaland for much of his time at Etihad Stadium.

De Zerbi added: "Omar is exactly the kind of player we want at this club - ambitious, hungry and determined to make a difference.

"He has incredible attacking quality but what I also love is his desire to improve and to win.

"He brings pace, intelligence and a real threat in front of goal, and I believe he can take our attacking play to another level."

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your views on Tottenham's 5-1 Carabao Cup second round win over Championship side Charlton on Wednesday.

Here are some of your comments:

Paul: A win is a win even though Charlton's much-changed team didn't really compete. Nice to see Solanke get some game time and a goal and Moore's goal will help with his confidence. Savio looked sharp and was very positive in his play and Bergvall got Saturday's performance out of his system. Let's hope for more of the same on Saturday against the Magpies.

Tom: A confidence-boosting night for the squad and new signings. More importantly, tonight confirmed that Mikey Moore must be retained in the squad. A good deal more effective than Tel and can play in the 10. He just needs a manager who believes in him.

Rich: Looked like strangers for the first half an hour, then Fernandes found a new gear and it all clicked. Mikey Moore was the standout and delighted for Savio and Danso with their first goals. Section of the Charlton supporters next to the family area just wanted to fight, that was disappointing. Police and stewards were excellent though.

Keith: There were moments in the second half where you could see glimpses of the team De Zerbi wants, beautiful first time passing orchestrated by Fernandes. Lovely cameo by Savio.

Andy: I can't wait for all our new acquisitions to be in the same starting line-up alongside the players that are coming back from injury. Only then we can get to see the real Spurs. This was a great score against Charlton but it doesn't really tell us too much.

Lem: The victory was expected and relevantly unimportant. It was much more about getting a new mix of players to start to collectively understand their positional play. A good exercise.

Image source, Getty Images

Tottenham boss Roberto de Zerbi described Wednesday's 5-1 Carabao Cup win over Charlton as the "perfect day" for new signing Savio.

The winger - a £75m summer addition from Manchester City - scored and assisted after being introduced as a second-half substitute to a standing ovation from the Spurs crowd.

"His biggest step and biggest improvement is to increase the number of goals. I think he is one of the best wingers, but the best wingers score many goals," De Zerbi said of the Brazil international.

"I spoke with him and we put the goal on 10 or 12 goals [target] because we need 10 or 12 goals from the wingers.

"Last season, we suffered too much because also the number of goals were not enough to compete for anything more than that position [17th in the Premier League]."

Spurs had struggled to make an impact against a much-changed Charlton side before 19-year-old academy graduate Mikey Moore broke the deadlock in the 41st minute.

Moore spent last season on loan at Rangers and has been linked throughout the summer with another loan for the 2026-27 campaign, despite starting the Premier League defeat at Brentford.

"He is our player from the academy and we have to understand what the best solution is for him and for us," De Zerbi added.

"I would like to keep him because he is young, a good player, but we can't make the wrong decision because he needs to play and put games inside of him.

"With Johan Lange and Vinai Venkatesham, we have to find the best solution."

Image source, Getty Images

The draw for the Carabao Cup third round has been made. Here is a list of all the ties involving Premier League teams in the order they were drawn.

The matches will be played in the weeks commencing September 7 and September 14.

• Crystal Palace v Middlesbrough

• Manchester United v Brighton

• Manchester City v Norwich City

• Sunderland v Hull City

• Ipswich Town v Arsenal

• Coventry City v Aston Villa

• Bournemouth v Lincoln City

• Liverpool v Tottenham

• Chelsea or Luton Town v Leeds

• Millwall v Newcastle United

• Everton v Wolves

• Reading v Brentford

• West Ham v Fulham or AFC Wimbledon

Read more and see the full draw

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Get in touch with your views

Come back to this page on Thursday to find a selection of your replies

There are three Premier League teams in action on Wednesday in the second round of the EFL Cup, and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Newcastle United v West Bromwich Albion - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

• Tottenham Hotspur v Charlton Athletic

• Preston North End v Everton (20:00) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

Kick-off 19:45 BST unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction

You can also listen to today's 5 Live commentaries on your smart speaker. Just say "Alexa, ask BBC Sounds to play Newcastle v West Bromwich Albion" or "Alexa, ask BBC Sounds to play the Everton match", for example.

See the full Carabao Cup second-round fixture list

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We asked for your views after Tottenham Hotspur agreed a loan deal with Manchester City for Egypt forward Omar Marmoush, with an obligation to buy the player for £60m next summer.

Here are some of your comments:

Mark: Think he is better than Savio and would like to see him play as a striker. Now seems a good time to sell Richarlison.

Alistair: Feels like an expensive stop-gap measure. City have played the transfer game well and shifted on squad players with a £30m profit. Not sure Spurs will reap the rewards of either purchase.

Daniel: Trust our manager, we saw what he did at Brighton. We need a number nine and if De Zerbi gets the team he wants, we could be in for a good season.

Brian: Good signing - exactly the kind of nimble, fast and adaptable number nine that we need.

Tom: We all know how hard it is to get quality number nines at the moment and Marmoush is quality. Nothing can be read into being the second string behind Haaland. I think that Richarlison doesn't fit into De Zerbi's plans half as well as Marmoush will. Hopefully a really good signing.

Daniel: Marmoush is an excellent signing and I think he's the best of the window so far for Spurs. We need his goals desperately!

Phil: Marmoush should be a great signing as we need a proven goalscorer to play alongside Solanke. Was never going to get enough game time at Man City with Haaland there.

Image source, Getty Images

Tottenham are set to complete a double-raid of Manchester City this week with a loan deal to sign forward Omar Marmoush now agreed, which contains an obligation to make the deal permanent for £60m next summer.

The 27-year-old Egypt international follows Savio from City to Spurs after the north London club signed the Brazilian for an initial fee of £75m on Tuesday.

Marmoush joined City from Eintracht Frankfurt for £59m last January but had to play second fiddle to Erling Haaland for much of his time at Etihad Stadium. He has scored 16 goals in 62 appearances in all competitions for City.

Spurs fans, what do you make of the move? Where will Marmoush fit into De Zerbi's line-up?

Get in touch with your views here

Mohamed Moallim
BBC Sport Journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Omar Marmoush is primarily a number nine, but he has rarely been confined to one role across the front line.

At Frankfurt, he was used predominantly through the middle but also appeared as a second striker and from the left. Manchester City have followed a similar pattern, using him mainly as a central attacker while also deploying him from the flank and just behind another forward.

That flexibility could suit Roberto de Zerbi. His teams have often relied on forwards changing positions, dropping towards the ball and then attacking the space created when opponents are drawn out. Marmoush is comfortable doing both.

Former Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha sees the Egyptian as most dangerous when he is able to threaten the space beyond the defence.

"As much as he is good dropping towards the ball, I think he is better when he plays on the shoulder," he said.

"He needs to be in a team that will constantly play balls in behind and force the opposition to run back towards their own goal. That's when you see a better version of Marmoush."

Opta's Premier League numbers from last season show he averaged 11.46 runs in behind per 90 minutes, almost identical to Dominic Solanke's 11.61 and ahead of Richarlison's 10.03. But he also offered considerably more with the ball.

Mohamed Moallim
BBC Sport Journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Savinho's involvement for Manchester City fell sharply last season after the club signed winger Antoine Semenyo from Bournemouth in January.

He played 821 Premier League minutes, scoring once and providing one assist, while featuring in only 31% of City's available minutes.

That was a significant drop from the previous campaign, when he played 54%.

Yet his 2024-25 numbers show why Tottenham are prepared to invest heavily in him. Savinho registered eight Premier League assists that season, all from open play, despite playing only 1,773 minutes. Only five players recorded more from open play.

On a per-90 basis, he ranked third for open-play assists with 0.41, while only Mohamed Salah created more chances per 90 than Savinho's 2.2.

His biggest threat, though, came from carrying the ball. Among Premier League players with at least 1,000 minutes in 2024-25, only Jeremy Doku averaged more progressive carries of at least 10 metres than Savinho's 6.8 per 90.

Savinho also led the division for carries followed by a chance created, averaging 1.3 per 90, while only Son Heung-min ended a carry with an assist more frequently.

He completed 2.6 dribbles per 90 with a 51% success rate and used those carries to draw defenders towards him before releasing team-mates.

That ability was even more evident during his breakout season at Girona. Savinho played 2,989 minutes in La Liga in 2023-24, with 65% of them coming on the left wing. He scored nine goals, supplied eight assists and established himself as one of the division's most dangerous one-against-one players.

At City, his role shifted. Across his two Premier League seasons, his most common position was on the right, accounting for 36% of his minutes, compared to 20% on the left. That versatility could matter at Spurs.

Tottenham could hijack Napoli's pursuit of Marseille and Algeria winger Amine Gouiri, 26. (Corriere dello Sport - in Italian), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Jonty Colman
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

The third-round draw for the 2026-27 Carabao Cup will take place on Wednesday, 26 August following the conclusion of Preston North End vs Everton.

Nine Premier League clubs taking part in European football join the 23 first-round winners from across the English Football League.

Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Aston Villa, Liverpool, Bournemouth, Sunderland, Brighton and Crystal Palace will enter the competition at this stage, as the top eight Premier League clubs from the 2025-26 season plus Crystal Palace as Conference League winners.

It will be broadcast live on Sky Sports following the conclusion of the third round tie between Preston North End and Everton, kicking off at 20:00 BST.

Unlike the opening two rounds of the competition, the third round draw is not regionalised.

However, before the match at Deepdale there will be a pre-draw determining which of the Champions League and Europa League clubs will play at home or away in round three.

In order to avoid potential scheduling issues, the eight Champions League and Europa League clubs cannot be drawn against each other in round three.

When the draw takes place, the first eight fixtures decided are the ones involving clubs in the Champions League and Europa League. The remainder of the draw will be an open draw as usual.

Due to clashes with opening weeks of the Champions League and Europa League seasons, the third round will be played across two different weeks. They are the weeks commencing Monday, 7 and Monday, 14 September, 2026.

Phil McNulty
Chief football writer

Tottenham have strengthened by spending heavily in the summer, but if Dominic Solanke is not going to be used regularly as a main striker, then this is where Roberto de Zerbi must look next.

Richarlison took the starting role in the opening weekend loss at Brentford, and while a deal for Manchester City's Omar Marmoush is progressing, is this actually his best role?

Kish Patel, Tottenham fan

Spurs desperately need forward players who can turn De Zerbi's quick attacks into decisive moments.

Currently, Tottenham have the players to play through pressure but don't have the players to maximise the situations this creates.

A winger and a striker who can improve us will be a drastic upgrade.

What business do you think still needs to get done before 23:00 BST on 1 September?

Get in touch with your views here

Katie Stafford
BBC Sport journalist

Spurs boss Roberto de Zerbi has been speaking to the media before Wednesday's Carabao Cup second-round tie against Championship side Charlton Athletic at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (kick-off 19:45 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Striker Dominic Solanke is available to play and Micky van de Ven and Pedro Porro will be named on the bench.

• Mohammed Kudus remains sidelined and James Maddison will miss the match because of "a small injury" in his shoulder.

• De Zerbi is unsure whether new signing Savio will "be ready" to start the game, but he is expected to be in the matchday squad.

• On Savio: "In terms of one-on-one, he's one of the best players and can play on either side.

• He said his side had enough quality to "do much better" in the opening 3-0 defeat at Brentford, but changing the mentality is "a big challenge".

• More from De Zerbi on Sunday's loss: "We need to get used to winning the matches. We have to change the mood. I think the environment has to change - the players inside and the people inside have to change this mentality."

• The Italian said Solanke is an "important player but he has to play much better than [he did] against Brentford", adding: "We need the striker to hold the ball when the opposition go man-to-man."

• De Zerbi said Spurs have been "working very well" in this summer's transfer market, but he couldn't say whether there will be any more incomings or outgoings.

Got a question about Spurs? Get in touch here and we'll seek answers from our experts

"I don't buy the excuses from Roberto de Zerbi," says former Premier League winger Andros Townsend.

Following Tottenham's opening-weekend defeat by Brentford, the Italian head coach said summer signings Marcos Senesi, Jan Paul van Hecke and Sandro Tonali were "not in the best physical condition".

"It is the first time in my lifetime - that I can remember - when Tottenham have actually been smart, done their business early and paid over the odds to get players through the door to get a full pre-season under their belts.

"I can only imagine that was so on matchday one they would be ready to hit the ground running, so the situation is baffling to me.

"Before the game, I was really excited because I thought Tottenham could have a really good season. I do think they still could, but I don't buy the excuses from Roberto de Zerbi."

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