Tottenham: Marmoush rinsed; Arsenal star the answer – De Zerbi’s muddled attack confuses legend – Exclusive

Tottenham Hotspur boss Roberto De Zerbi has been told Dominic Solanke will soon come good for the club – but the Italian manager needs to work out his best attacking line-up, with more needed from both Mohammed Kudus and Omar Marmoush and with a winger legend exclusively telling TEAMtalk the Arsenal star he wishes they had signed.

It’s been a topsy-turvy first 10 games of the season for the Italian as he looks to make his mark with the north London giants. Currently sat 11th in the table, Spurs have three wins and four losses from their 10 games played so far.

However, much more will be expected of the club following the resumption from the latest international break, especially given the huge money invested over the summer.

Despite that, a tepid display, particularly in the second half, last time out at Leeds, which resulted in a 1-0 defeat, shows why De Zerbi has plenty to work on, particularly when it comes to finding the right balance in attack.

Assessing where it’s all going wrong and what needs to change, TEAMtalk sat down for a one-to-one with the club’s winger legend-turned-pundit Chris Waddle.

“Their approach play is really nice; they take people on and get past people, but they don’t score enough goals,” Waddle told TEAMtalk in conjunction with iGaming.com.

“Mathys Tel scored a great goal at Chelsea, but I’m not sure if Mohammed Kudus has scored yet. As a winger, you’ve got to be chipping in with 10 to 15 goals.

“Kudus’s approach play is good, he’s strong, he keeps the ball well, and he can get at full-backs, but he’s got to get in the box more when the ball is down the other side.

“He has the technique and ability, but he needs to add more goal attempts and come off the pitch thinking he should have scored two or three by now.

“They’ve lacked goals from the 9 and 10 positions this year. When James Maddison is playing, he adds a lot to their game, but when he’s not playing, they don’t have a natural number 10.”

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Solanke backed to come good; is Arsenal star the missing ingredient?

With reference to those lack of goals coming from their forward line, we asked Waddle about the struggles of Dominic Solanke in front of goal and asked if he’s on borrowed time.

His answer may surprise a few…

“Solanke will come good – goalscorers go through spells – and once he gets one, he’ll go on a run. But Tottenham are crying out for a creative midfielder who can pull the strings, play those little killer passes, and make things happen behind the striker.”

Asked who they should go for, Waddle continued: “You’re looking for a Cole Palmer-type player, aren’t you? Someone like Eberechi Eze. It’s a shame they didn’t sign him when they tried.

“You need someone who can play in that pocket off the striker, thread passes inside the full-backs and get the centre-forward in to score goals. They are crying out for a player like that to pull the strings in the final third.

“They need someone like Glenn Hoddle! The creativity is so lacking in that team; they may have to ask Glenn to put his boots back on again!”

One player yet to really spark into life since his summer move is Omar Marmoush, who joined on loan from Manchester City but with an obligation to make a permanent £60m deal next year.

But with one goal to his name in 11 appearances so far, Marmoush was recently the subject of an absolute roasting from outspoken pundit Jamie O’Hara, who labelled the Egyptian a “fraud and “absolute garbage”.

Branding the player an enigma, Waddle continued: “I could never figure out his position when he was bought by Manchester City, and I still can’t work out where he actually plays.

“De Zerbi might look at him and see a player with a load of pace, but where do you play him? It didn’t really work on the wing, it didn’t work up front, and it didn’t work at 10. He’s an enigma.”

Ahead of the January window, sources can confirm that Tottenham Hotspur are plotting a daring raid for Bournemouth livewire Eli Junior Kroupi, who was recently called up by the France national squad for the first time.

And while a move looks extremely difficult in January, we understand that Spurs will at least ask the question and will offer the Cherries their pick of three players in part exchange.

We can also reveal that Spurs are eyeing a powerful AC Milan star, who has quickly established himself as a firm favourite of Ruben Amorim at the San Siro.