Because of Marmoush: Tottenham's 'exciting academy grad' is finished

This was Eberechi Eze all over again.

In the end, Roberto De Zerbi did improve the attack, well so he thought anyway, with the additions of Savio and Omar Marmoush.

Savio enjoyed a captivating debut, scoring against Charlton Athletic, but for Marmoush, he has struggled.

How Marmoush played vs Leeds

With Will Lankshear tossed to one side and now in the form of his life, the last thing De Zerbi needed was a slow start for his new forwards.

Unfortunately, that's precisely what has occurred with Marmoush. The Egyptian bagged a beauty against Coventry City a matter of weeks ago but has failed to kick on since then.

Arguably his worst performance yet came against Leeds in the 1-0 defeat at Elland Road last Saturday lunchtime.

In that game, the loanee was withdrawn after 65 minutes, having made such little impact on the game. He was particularly underwhelming, handed low ratings galore from Spurs journalists.

Football.London notably gave him a 3/10 and described him as 'underwhelming', which is putting it rather politely.

He had just two shots, one of which was on target, while to compound the 27-year-old's woes, he completed only six passes, one every 11 minutes he was on the pitch.

The trouble for De Zerbi is that he's not getting much out of Dominic Solanke either. Between them, they have scored three goals all season.

How Marmoush's spell at Spurs has played out

After missing out on the aforementioned Ndiaye and another top target in Cody Gakpo, the recruitment team made the decision to pivot to Marmoush, who hadn't exactly played much at City last season.

Well, on the evidence we've seen of the forward since arriving in the capital, it's unsurprising to see why he was stuck playing second fiddle throughout Pep Guardiola's final campaign at the Etihad.

Still, on paper, this looked like a smart move. Signed on loan with an obligation to buy of £60m, the fact that Tottenham were not paying out this summer made this fairly risk-free.

Yet, that obligation is where the problem lies. At the moment, Marmoush does not look like he is worth even half of that.

His move to north London has been something of a disaster, scoring one goal and failing to register a single assist throughout his ten appearances.

One of the biggest problems lies positionally. Is Marmoush a striker? Is he a winger? Is he a second striker? In each role he's played in for Tottenham so far, he has struggled.

What Marmoush's signing means for the Spurs squad

When Marmoush crashed home that lovely goal against Coventry, we finally had lift-off.

Here we go, Spurs fans cried; this was why they brought him to the club. Alas, that remains the sole piece of quality since he moved from City.

It is still early days in the forward's time at Tottenham but the early signs are not good and to make matters worse, he's blocking the minutes of more promising players, notably Luca Williams-Barnett.

He has to start, surely? His cameos in recent weeks have been scintillating, particularly his display against Crystal Palace just over a week ago. Mohammed Kudus should face a criminal sentence for his late miss that robbed the 18-year-old of an assist on Premier League debut.

Marmoush's arrival has also represented bad news for Mikey Moore. It wasn't long ago that journalist Tom Barclay exclaimed that the teenager was the club's "most exciting academy graduate since Harry Kane".

It was not hard to see why. After all, in a clash with AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League back in 2024/25, James Maddison suggested it was like having "Neymar on the wing".

Moore is full of life, he's cut from a similar cloth as Williams-Barnett in that regard. Quick, crafty, and full of goals, he looked set to become a star in Spurs colours.

A loan at Rangers last term certainly helped matters. It was the 19-year-old's first true taste of senior football and he swam, rather than sunk, in the high-pressure environment of life at Ibrox.

The youngster scored seven goals and produced four assists which was not bad going at all. He tasked himself with kicking on over the summer and it looked as though he had.

Moore netted twice against Hoffenheim in pre-season and had the honour of starting the opening Premier League match of the season against Brentford. That said, Richarlison also started, so it was hardly an indication of what was to come.

Still, the teen scored against Charlton Athletic in the Carabao Cup and was on course to enjoy a prominent role in De Zerbi's side.

But, with Spurs chasing higher quality, Moore was cast aside. As the likes of Savio and Marmoush arrived, as well as Mykhailo Mudryk, Tottenham's great academy superstar was on his way to FC Koln in Germany.

Sadly, it has not gone well. BILD report that his loan spell in the Bundesliga has been a 'mess' with the attacker so far failing to score across nine appearances.

As a result, it would not be a surprise if Moore has already played his final game in Spurs colours. Combined with a so far unconvincing loan spell, the signings of Marmoush and Savio have all but sealed his fate.

Like Lankshear and Troy Parrott, he may well have to flee the nest in order to truly thrive.