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Can Omar Marmoush save Man City’s season?
Omar Marmoush’s arrival at Manchester City has brought renewed optimism at the Etihad Stadium and he could help salvage their poor season.
Fans with Man City tickets saw a glimpse of renewed hope in their team’s win against Chelsea. Erling Haaland’s masterclass was a notable mention, but their debutant, Omar Marmoush, stole the spotlight.
Arriving at the club as a January transfer, the 25-year-old Egyptian showed the fans something special—something they had not seen for nearly two months.
The sheer passion, the undeniable speed, and the ability to shift from defence to attack makes Marmoush the newest prospect on the star-studded City side.
City’s having their worst run of form in nearly a decade, and Pep Guardiola is feeling the heat.
While fans with Man City tickets are disappointed, they also express their support for their beloved manager, who’s also going through a rough patch in his purple patch.
But, the arrival of Marmoush brings a new wave of hope.
Marmoush – Who?
It is rare that a 25-year-old suddenly emerges as a £59m signing, almost from nowhere.
While Omar Marmoush has been a relatively successful goalscorer in the German Bundesliga for a few seasons, he has had to patiently wait for his big break before being announced as Manchester City’s third January signing on Thursday after a prolific start to the season.
He arrived in Germany from the Egyptian second division as an 18-year-old, having been spotted by ex-Manchester United winger Ryan Giggs. He spent a couple of seasons in the youth side before making his senior debut in May 2020.
Giggs, then an analyst for UEFA, saw Marmoush at an under-17s tournament in Dubai and told an agent about him, who alerted Pierre Littbarski, head of scouting at Wolfsburg.
“Marmoush was fast at that time, took a lot of risks, was technically strong and did some surprising things.” Littbarski said later. “He was an uncut diamond.”
Wolfsburg invited Marmoush, who was 17 at the time, to a trial session and subsequently signed him up for the club’s youth academy.
“Imagine this: he goes from Cairo to Wolfsburg – that is a completely different world,” Littbarski added.
“He just wanted to play. This is a typical street footballer. When he comes into such a passing-oriented system, then it is not easy.”
Back in 2021, the versatile forward was surplus to requirements and sent out on loan by Wolfsburg.
He had loan spells at St Pauli and Stuttgart, only displaying his abilities in spurts but never throughout an entire season.
Marmoush’s move from Wolfsburg to Frankfurt on a free in 2023 made Him a sought-after striker, and Manchester City has now acquired his services.
Despite the serious influx of cash, Frankfurt was unhappy when the Blues first contacted them about a potential January transfer because Marmoush had become their life insurance, repeatedly scoring game-winning goals until the very end.
Frankfurt can be grateful for the 37 goals and 20 assists he delivered in 67 games, but the Egyptian ought to be thankful to Frankfurt and particularly manager Dino Toppmoller for bringing out the best in him.
After a 2-0 win over Dortmund last Friday, Marmoush, who did not play in the game, said goodbye to the fans and was then celebrated by his teammates.
A teammate of Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah for his country, Marmoush has become one of the breakout stars in Europe this season, with 20 goals in 26 games for Frankfurt—15 in the Bundesliga.
German football expert Raphael Honigstein added: “He is dynamic, a wide forward who can play through the middle.
“Some people have compared him to Mohamed Salah, perhaps not as tricky or as explosive, but his finishing is incredible.”
Marmoush at Frankfurt
Toppmoller, a former assistant to Julian Nagelsmann at Bayern Munich, took his first managerial position at a big club when he joined Frankfurt in 2023. He saw how Marmoush had not been utilised to the best of his abilities at other clubs.
Because of his undeniable versatility, he was sometimes employed on the wing as well as a number 10, while his true calling is that of a striker.
He also often played as a lone number nine during Frankfurt’s 2023-24 campaign and as part of a two-person frontline alongside Hugo Ekitike this season.
In both systems, Marmoush showed his tactical understanding, often dropping in the perfect spaces between the lines or making deep runs with great timing behind the defence. He also developed impressive composure in and around the box.
Marmoush’s confidence has grown to the point that he knows exactly how often he can touch the ball and when to strike before a defender reaches him.
Frankfurt is a well-coached pressing side that relies on the tactical and spatial awareness of players such as Tunisian Ellyes Skhiri and the experienced Mario Gotze in midfield, as well as smooth cooperation among position groups.
The full-backs and wingers need to know how to interact with each other, just like the two strikers need to understand how to interchange positions and occupy different spaces to stretch the backline and disrupt man-marking schemes.
While Marmoush was the more prolific goalscorer of the two, Ekitike did just as good a job as the newly signed City striker because Marmoush often found space when his French forward partner distracted at least one or even two defenders.
From here on, Ekitike will have to shoulder much more of the goalscoring responsibilities unless Frankfurt finds an adequate replacement for Marmoush before the end of the January transfer window.
City Might Not Qualify for the Champions League
Sitting below the top 5 in the Premier League, Manchester City might not make the Champions League in Pep Guardiola’s final season in charge.
While City were slowly edging close to the top four at the start of January with the 3-1 win against Chelsea, their inconsistent run of form still puts them in an uncomfortable situation.
City has a bad reputation for scoring first and then conceding the lead. This has happened not once but several times across competitions this season, and fans with Man City tickets are worried.
With more games to go in this season, consistency will be massively important if the club wants to keep its streak of qualifying for the Champions League.
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