Omar Marmoush: How Man City could use the Egyptian as a forward and how he was used at Eintracht Frankfurt
It is rare that a 25-year-old suddenly appears, almost out of nowhere, to be a £59million signing.
While Omar Marmoush has been a relatively successful goalscorer in the German Bundesliga for a few seasons now, he had to wait patiently for his big break before being announced as Manchester City’s third January signing on Thursday after a promising start to the season.
He arrived in Germany from the Egyptian second division at the age of 18, where he was spotted by former Manchester United winger Ryan Giggs, spending a few seasons in the youth team before making his senior debut in May 2020.
Giggs, who was a UEFA analyst at the time, saw Marmoush at an under-17 tournament in Dubai and told an agent about him, who alerted Pierre Littbarski, the head of scouting at Wolfsburg.
“Marmoush at that time was really fast, he took a lot of risks, was technically strong and did some amazing things.” Litbarsky said later. “He was an uncut diamond.”
Wolfsburg invited the then 17-year-old Marmoush to a trial session and subsequently signed him for the club’s youth academy.
“Imagine, he goes from Cairo to Wolfsburg – that’s a completely different world,” Litbarsky said.
“He just wanted to play. This is a typical street footballer. When he comes into such a passing-oriented system, it is not easy.”
In 2021, the versatile forward exceeded the requirements and was sent on loan by Wolfsburg.
He had loan spells at St. Pauli and Stuttgart, where he displayed his abilities only in spurts, but never over the course of a full season.
It was a free transfer from Wolfsburg to Frankfurt in 2023 that turned Marmoush into a sought-after striker, which has now seen Manchester City acquire his services.
Despite the serious infusion of cash, Frankfurt were not happy when the Blues first approached him about a potential January transfer, as Marmoush has become their life insurance, repeatedly scoring game-winning goals towards the end.
Frankfurt may feel grateful for the 37 goals and 20 assists he gave in 67 games, but at the same time, Egypt should be grateful to Frankfurt and especially manager Dino Topmöller for bringing out their best.
After last Friday’s 2-0 win over Dortmund, Marmoush, who did not play in the game, waved 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 and 15 in the Bundesliga.
German football expert Raphael Honigstein told BBC Sport: “He’s really dynamic, a wide forward who can play through the middle.
“Some people have compared him to Mohamed Salah, maybe not as hard or explosive but his finishing is incredible.”
