Roberto De Zerbi has confirmed that Omar Marmoush is in contention to make his Tottenham debut this weekend against Newcastle.
Marmoush signed for Spurs from Manchester City on Thursday, joining initially on loan with a £60million obligation to buy at the end of the season. The Egyptian forward was an unused substitute as City came from behind to beat Bournemouth 2-1 last weekend, but De Zerbi has no concerns about the 27-year-old's fitness.
Selection dilemma up front
De Zerbi will have to weigh up whether to start Marmoush in place of Richarlison and Dominic Solanke, or name him on the bench.
Savio is also in line to make his full debut. The Brazilian, signed from City in a deal worth up to £85million earlier this week, made a dream start to life in north London by scoring and assisting against Charlton in the Carabao Cup second round.
Defensive returns and injury concerns
Micky van de Ven and Pedro Porro were given their first minutes of the season off the bench against Charlton, and De Zerbi revealed that both of them are in contention to start against Newcastle. Mohammed Kudus is pushing for a place on the bench.
Van de Ven, though, has been managing an injury and may not be risked, with De Zerbi erring on the side of caution with the Dutch defender, who has struggled with muscle injuries throughout his Spurs career.
“Van de Ven is right to play. We have to look, we have to understand the beginning part of the game. Like Savio, like Pedro, Marmoush is available to play, maybe also the beginning of the game. Robertson is like Udogie. Udogie is a good news for us because Udogie is very important and he played well 60 minutes, like was the plan,” De Zerbi said in his pre-match press conference.
Maddison set to miss out
James Maddison, meanwhile, is expected to miss out against Newcastle with a shoulder injury sustained during Spurs' 3-0 defeat to Brentford last weekend.
Asked if supporters would have to be patient with Maddison as he tries to put a consistent run of games together, De Zerbi said they were working on a plan to ensure the 29-year-old returns in the best condition and is not rushed back.
The match takes place at 5.30pm BST on Saturday, August 29, 2026, at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and will be shown on Sky Sports.
