Manchester City have asked Eintracht Frankfurt not to play Omar Marmoush in their Bundesliga clash with Borussia Dortmund on Friday evening as they close in on a £65million deal for the Egyptian striker.
Frankfurt included Marmoush in their squad for the Dortmund match after rejecting an initial offer from City of around £52 million. The Premier League champions have returned with an improved offer closer to the £67m asking price, although the deal will include around £10m in add-ons.
Sources in Germany believe an agreement is now close and that Marmoush has played his last game for Frankfurt. City have decided that Marmoush is the man who can ease the goal-scoring burden on Erling Haaland.
He has scored 15 goals in the Bundesliga this season – just one behind leading hitman Harry Kane – and has scored 20 goals and 13 assists in 26 appearances in all competitions. Personal terms are seen as a formality, with the only question now being how the deal will be structured.
City will spend over £170 million this month to end a slump, meaning they now face a battle to finish in the top four. City are also nearing deals for defenders Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis. And they have been quoted £42m by Juventus for right-back Andrea Cambiaso.
Khusanov joins from French club Lens in a deal worth £33.5 million once a work permit is finalized for the Uzbek international centre-back. Brazilian teenager Reis is heading to Manchester after catching a flight from Sao Paulo to Lisbon after Palmeiras accepted City's £30million offer.
And Cambiaso, 24, has been identified as a replacement for want-away captain Kyle Walker. Walker is unlikely to play for City again after shocking Guardiola with a request to leave the club just 48 hours before last weekend's match against West Ham.
Guardiola has expressed regret over not completing signings last summer to avoid problems this season. The Catalan coach turned down the opportunity to bring more new players to the Etihad, with Savinho and Ilkay Gundogan being City's only signings.
“In the summer the club thought about it and I said 'no, I don't want to make any signings',” Guardiola said this week. “I trusted these guys a lot and thought I could do it again. But after the injuries – wow – maybe we should have done it.”
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