Man City news: Egypt forward Omar Marmoush completes move to Manchester City from Frankfurt
Manchester City have officially completed the signing of Egypt international Omar Marmoush from Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt.
The 25-year-old has signed for the Cityzens on a four-and-a-half-year contract for a fee in excess of €75million, plus performance-related add-ons.
Marmoush is Pep Guardiola’s third signing of the January transfer window, after already completing the acquisitions of Vitor Reis and Abdukodir Khusanov.
The Egyptian's career was propelled to unimaginable levels after joining Frankfurt in 2023 and has been one of the Bundesliga’s standout performers alongside Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane.
Eintracht Frankfurt have defied all expectations so far this season, accumulating 36 points halfway into the season, which has them on course for Champions League qualification.
Marmoush has been a staple of the club’s success after amassing an extraordinary 24 goal contributions in 18 Bundesliga appearances.
As well as establishing himself as a superstar at club level, Marmoush has become a regular for his country, garnering 36 appearances for Egypt as they remain unbeaten in their current African Cup of Nations Qualifying group.
Which void does Marmoush fill at Manchester City?
After an unexpectedly poor start to the 2024/25 campaign, City have felt the need to bolster their ranks, and in doing so have sent a statement out to the rest of the Premier League.
Julian Alvarez’s departure to Atletico Madrid in the summer left a void in City’s attacking options, and failure to replace the Argentine has led to an elevated burden on the shoulders of City superstar, Erling Haaland.
The Norwegian has averaged just over 88 minutes a game this season, which exceeds the 82 minutes he was averaging the season prior, and a lot of this has to do with City’s lack of squad depth.
The acquisition of Marmoush will not only give City some much-needed depth throughout their frontline, but it will also give their star man a lessened workload, which might in turn help Haaland’s performances in the long run.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Man City news: Lens centre-back Abdukodir Khusanov joins the Citizens
Where will the Egypitian fit into Guardiola’s system?
In Marmoush, Manchester City have signed a player who has plied his trade in a variety of different positions throughout his career.
Albeit excelling in a central position for club and country, Marmoush has also played plenty of football cutting inside off the left, so the Egyptian will be more than capable of playing alongside Haaland.
City already have a plethora of attacking talent, especially out wide, so, for now, Marmoush will likely be rotated with Haaland up front.
However, compared to the Norwegian centre forward, Marmoush has a much wider skillset and will be able to offer Man City something new in attack.
The Egyptian forward is much more than just a goalscorer and his start to the season anchors this - the attacker is top of the charts for assists in the Bundesliga after setting up nine goals, whilst averaging two key passes per game.
Although Marmoush’s goal tally is slightly bettered by Kane’s 16 goals, the difference between the two in expected goals (xG) is astonishing and makes good reading for the City faithful.
Marmoush has outscored his xG of 8.87 by over six goals this season, which shows just how clinical in front of goal he is.
This is a huge indicator of his potential success at Man City, at the Manchester club tends to play around Haaland, whose purpose is to convert opportunities given to him, rather than self-created chances.
Guardiola has a track record of having an eye for top attacking talent, and City fans will hope that they have found another diamond in their new number seven.
Follow all the latest January window rumours and deals with Transfer News Blitz, and follow us on BlueSky as we continue to tell it like it is when it comes to transfer talk.
