Eintracht Frankfurt's in-demand attacker Omar Marmoush is ready to take the next step in his career in the hope of becoming a "superstar", Manchester City expert Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany had told Sports Mole.
The 25-year-old has been strongly linked with a move to the Etihad Stadium since the January transfer window opened, with reports in his native Egypt claiming last weekend that the Citizens were set to sign him for around £50m.
Those rumours have since been denied by multiple European outlets and journalists, although it is now understood that Pep Guardiola's side have held preliminary talks with Marmoush's representatives.
The Egypt international, who has attracted the interest of several top clubs in Europe, has been one of the standout performers in the Bundesliga since joining Frankfurt from Wolfsburg on a free transfer in 2023.
Marmoush has contributed with 18 goals and 12 assists in 24 appearances for Frankfurt across all competitions so far this season, scoring 13 goals and registering eight assists in 15 Bundesliga matches for a side who currently sit third in the table.
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'Marmoush seems to have what Man City are lacking'
McInerney has been impressed with Marmoush's performances in Germany and believes that the versatile attacker has the attributes that Man City's current frontline are lacking.
"He's obviously having a bit of a breakout season... 21 goal and assist contributions in 15 games in the Bundesliga. It's ridiculous," McInerney told Sports Mole.
"I think there is something in this. I think City are looking for killers. Guardiola's talked an awful lot about a lack of responsibility from players in terms of goals. We can't keep leaning on [Erling] Haaland constantly.
"Marmoush seems a very versatile player, which Guardiola likes. Marmoush can play on the left, he can play on the right, he can play behind the striker, he can play as a striker and he seems to have that hunger for goals that City are lacking right now."
Man City's "very visible and real issue" of relying solely on Haaland to provide the goods in the final third must be addressed in the eyes of McInerney, who is also "a little bit jealous" of the Citizens' rivals Liverpool, who have had a plethora of players chipping in with goals this term.
He added: "I look at Liverpool right now and I am a little bit jealous as a City fan, because I look at [Mohamed] Salah - brutal, [Cody] Gakpo, who's scoring quality goals. They've got people like [Luis] Diaz who is very hungry, [Diogo] Jota, all these real goal threats and I think City had that at one point.
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Man City's interest in Marmoush is "genuine"
"At one point, City had a forward line of Leroy Sane, who was scoring 15-20 goals, [Raheem] Sterling who was scoring 25-30 goals, [Sergio] Aguero who was scoring 30 goals, and then you had [Kevin] De Bruyne chipping in with 15 goals, David Silva chipping in with 10 goals minimum, then you had [Gabriel] Jesus with 15 goals a season, [Riyad] Mahrez with 15-20 goals a season, there were goals everywhere - everyone was so hungry to score goals and I think we've drifted away from that.
"That's a very visible and real issue. Right now we've got Haaland who scores a lot, [Phil] Foden did last season, but he's dropped off massively, De Bruyne doesn't score as much as he used to, [Jeremy] Doku has never scored a lot of goals, [Jack] Grealish has never scored a lot of goals and Savinho's still getting started. Oscar Bobb might score when he comes back, but ultimately there isn't a backup striker. There isn't a regular goalscoring winger that we've got so far."
McInerney believes that Man City's interest in Marmoush is "genuine" and when factoring in his profile, versatility and hunger to score goals, he feels that the attacker has the credentials to make the next step in his career and potentially thrive under Guardiola.
"Marmoush is a really good profile: 25 years old, is having a breakout season at Frankfurt, he would be available for a reasonable price I reckon," said McInerney. "Frankfurt have always sold, they're reasonably happy to sell players if the money comes in. They've done it plenty of times - [Sebastian] Haller, [Luka] Jovic, [Randal Kolo] Muani.
"I think this is genuine. I think City are interested in him. I do think he's probably been offered around a little bit [by his agent] and I would like him at Man City. Not every single player can take the next step up, but I think some players have the hunger and the smarts to take that step to an elite level club.
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Is Marmoush a superstar in the making?
"Frankfurt are a very good club don't get me wrong, but City are challenging for every single trophy in world football pretty much every year, so that is the standard and I think Marmoush would come in and offer something very different.
"I like the way he plays. He's intelligent, he's direct, he's assertive and I think they are some of the things that City are missing right now. Someone who's not afraid to shoot, who's not afraid to score goals and someone who revels in that responsibility.
"There's a lot of intelligence to his game from what I can tell. Would he bring it to the Premier League if he comes here? I don't know, but I think City's links with him make an awful lot of sense because of the versatility he's got, the goals he's got to his game, his profile, his age, a lot of experience in the Bundesliga. He's ready to take that step up to become what he would hope would be a superstar somewhere.
"I think there's something in this. I don't know if it will happened in January. I think it sounds like more of a summer move, but I would take Marmoush in a heartbeat. I think there's a real quality there.
"It's a bit of a risk because we don't know if he can maintain [his performance levels], but I think his quality is undeniable."
Press play on the video at the top of this article to hear the full discussion.
> Click here to read McInerney's views on Man City's interest in Abdukodir Khusanov
Oliver Thomas
