Evangelos Marinakis should be very happy with his recent transfer activities, but the Nottingham Forest owner must wince every time he hears the name of Manchester City's next £50million striker.
Forest technical director George Syrianos has excellent links in German football and Omar Marmoush was high on his list of Bundesliga targets last summer. Forest proposed a package of just over £20 million and ultimately did not make the final move to buy him from Eintracht Frankfurt.
Head coach Nuno Espirito Santo likes to work with a close-knit squad and is thought to have told Marinakis late last summer that there was no need to add anything.
With Forest joint second in the table and their main striker Chris Wood in the form of his life, it is unfair to say they have made a mistake – and their interest in Marmoush shows that their scouting system is working well. But with the 25-year-old set to join the Premier League champions for almost triple what Forest agreed, the staff could be forgiven for feeling a pang of remorse.
An Egyptian striker with quick feet to match his speed over the ground and a flair for the spectacular. Do you remember someone? Marmoush calls Mohamed Salah 'a big brother' and although the Liverpool striker is impressed, he warns against drawing parallels.
“I see Marmoush as a great player with a lot of talent,” Salah said. 'We have to stay away from comparisons so that everything goes better for him.
'People need to stop comparing Marmoush to me. He is starting his journey and I have achieved a lot in my career. This puts a lot of pressure on him, and I'm sure he doesn't like it. Let him enjoy his journey and his success.”
It will be fascinating to see where Marmoush is used for his next club, especially considering a certain Norwegian is already at the Etihad Stadium. While two up front are relatively rare in the Pep Guardiola-led tactical world, Marmoush and forward Hugo Ekitike have worked brilliantly together for Eintracht this season, sharing 20 goals and 11 assists.
While the 22-year-old Frenchman Ekitike prefers to operate centrally, Marmoush roams in all directions. He is also a vicious set-piece taker, scoring straight from a free-kick in three games in a row in November. Other players who have achieved this are Lionel Messi (twice) and Alessandro del Piero.
While Messi and Del Piero broke into the first team at a young age and achieved immediate success, Marmoush has had a more difficult journey.
Wolfsburg signed him from Egyptian club Wadi Degla in 2017 and the move simply did not materialize. Apart from a decent season on loan in the second tier with St. Pauli, Marmoush struggled and spent much of his time with Wolfsburg's B team in the German fourth tier. Before joining Frankfurt in 2023, Marmoush scored eight goals in 62 Bundesliga appearances. He even left on a free transfer.
What we don't know is whether Marmoush's form in Frankfurt, with 25 goals in 44 league games and just one goal behind Harry Kane in this season's Bundesliga Golden Boot, will prove to be an outlier.
The club has an impressive track record of developing attackers, with Luka Jovic, Sebastien Haller and Randal Kolo Muani earning big-money moves to Real Madrid, West Ham and Paris Saint-Germain respectively thanks to their performances for Eintracht. The German team reserved a total of £166 million for these three players.
Yet Jovic and Kolo Muani have struggled desperately to recapture the Eintracht magic elsewhere. Perhaps Eintracht is such a perfect home base for strikers that some feel lost when they leave. Ekitike, who is mobile and plays smart on the left, is the perfect partner for Marmoush. Could he have a similar relationship with Erling Haaland?
Then there are Marmoush's numbers this season. More than four shots per 90 minutes is fine, with an average of two finding the target. His success rate – he makes almost 20 percent of his shots – is almost identical to Kane's.
But is it sustainable? Marmoush has scored 13 goals this season, while the xG (expected goals) stands at 7.5. That suggests a player on a good streak whose fortunes could change, just like his career numbers before joining Eintracht.
“Omar has a very good shooting technique,” emphasizes Frankfurt sporting director Markus Krosche. 'That is the result of hard training and the self-confidence you need. He has also found a rhythm.'
But Marmoush is not just about the goals. He has provided seven assists this season, created an average of six chances per game and dribbled into the penalty area almost four times per game.
Although he turns 26 in February, Marmoush has completed fewer than 100 90 minutes in his career, meaning he doesn't have too many miles under his belt.
Every major transfer is a gamble, even for a club like City, and perhaps especially so given the problems this season. Part of that is due to a lack of goal scorers in the forwards. Haaland has 16 in the Premier League, but after that City's top scorers are left back Josko Gvardiol (four) and deep-lying midfielder Mateo Kovacic (three).
Marmoush's raw talent has been evident since he attended the American School in Cairo. “It's as if his foot always knew the way to the goal,” says teacher Ahmed Elagroudy. “These skills were evident, plus his excellent speed on the field.”
His mental strength is also evident. It would have been easy for Marmoush – who speaks fluent English – to disappear without a trace after failing to make an impression during his early years in Germany. He managed to overcome these difficulties, which is an encouraging sign for the future.
“It was not an easy step to leave my family and friends and move to Germany,” Marmoush has admitted. “I didn't know the language, I didn't know the food – everything. But I always had the dream of becoming a professional footballer.'
He has long fulfilled that ambition and at 25 is mature enough to take on a challenge like City.
Salah was also 25 when he joined Liverpool from Roma and is now fourth in their all-time goalscorers list. If Marmoush can be anywhere near as good as his compatriot, that £50 million will be very well spent.
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