Man City to stun Liverpool by moving for ‘serious’ Reds target, as Bayern hold initial talks

James Holland 05 Nov 2024 9:18 AM

Omar Marmoush is being eyed by Man City, Liverpool and Bayern Munich

Liverpool will face competition to sign Omar Marmoush as Manchester City and Bayern Munich have joined the race for the Eintracht Frankfurt hitman, according to reports.

Liverpool remain hopeful of tying down Mo Salah to a new contract, with his current terms due to expire next summer. However, the forward is courting interest from Saudi clubs, forcing Liverpool to draw up a list of potential replacements in case a new contract is not possible.

Arne Slot’s side officially registered their interest in Frankfurt striker Marmoush on Friday. Over the weekend, it emerged that Liverpool’s two main targets to replace Salah are Marmoush and Napoli ace Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

But the chase to land Marmoush has just gotten more complicated. According to Spanish outlet Fichajes, Man City have entered the frame for the 25-year-old and have earmarked him as a possible replacement for Erling Haaland.

Should Real Madrid or Barcelona manage to snare Haaland, then City will battle Liverpool for Marmoush, viewing him as someone who can score bags of goals at the Etihad.

While it would take a monumental task to replace Haaland, Marmoush seemingly has the ability to do so. This term he has managed a hugely impressive 12 goals and nine assists in 14 matches for Frankfurt across all competitions.

Bayern Munich, meanwhile, will attempt to keep Salah’s Egyptian compatriot in the Bundesliga by engineering their own move for him.

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Bayern in for Marmoush after ‘stellar’ display

Sky Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg states that Marmoush is ‘definitely’ on Bayern’s radar, especially after he put in a ‘stellar performance’ against them on October 6. The versatile forward, who can also play as a winger on either flank, notched two goals and an assist as Frankfurt held Bayern to a 3-3 draw in the Bundesliga.

Bayern have held ‘informal talks’ over the prospective signing of Marmoush, with their director of sport Max Eberl a big fan of him.

Plettenberg does add though that Liverpool hold ‘serious interest’ in the in-form star too. The Reds are certainly not out of the race, even if they will have to fend off major competition to land Marmoush.

Frankfurt supporters have fallen in love with the 34-cap international amid his fantastic scoring exploits for them, but they will soon have to watch him move on.

Frankfurt are aware of Marmoush’s desire to play for one of the biggest clubs in the world and have therefore set their stall out early.

Liverpool, City and Bayern have been told that a bid worth €50-60m (up to £50.3m / $65.3m) will be enough to forge an agreement for the player.

City star tempted by move; Liverpool eye Champions League starlet

Meanwhile, City’s backup goalkeeper Stefan Ortega is reportedly ‘very tempted’ to return to Germany.

Bayer Leverkusen are leading the charge for Ortega. They believe they can convince the shot-stopper to leave City by offering him more game time.

Such a move would force City to enter the market for a new keeper who can provide cover for usual No 1 Ederson.

Elsewhere, Liverpool and Chelsea are both tracking Red Star Belgrade wonderkid Andrija Maksimovic.

Sources have confirmed to TEAMtalk that Liverpool and Chelsea have sent scouts to watch the 17-year-old attacking midfielder this season.

Maksimovic’s contract runs until June 2027, though Red Star will find it tough to prevent his exit amid ‘serious interest’ in his services.

DIVE DEEPER: Omar Marmoush – the story so far

February 1999 – Marmoush is born in Cairo, Egypt.
July 2016 – He makes his debut as a substitute in an Egyptian Premier League match for Wadi Degla.
December 2016 – His first goal for Wadi Degla comes in an Egypt Cup match.
August 2017 – After a total of 18 appearances and three goals for Wadi Degla, Marmoush moves to Germany to sign for Wolfsburg, initially being placed in the reserve team.
May 2020 – Marmoush makes his first-team debut for Wolfsburg in a Bundesliga match.
June 2020 – Wolfsburg reward him with his first professional contract.
August 2020 – Marmoush makes his European debut in a Europa League match for Wolfsburg.
January 2021 – Wolfsburg send Marmoush on loan to St Pauli in the German second tier.
August 2021 – His next loan spell is arranged to be in the Bundesliga with Stuttgart.
September 2021 – Marmoush scores on his Stuttgart debut with a last-minute equaliser and is named as the Bundesliga’s Rookie of the Month.
October 2021 – Marmoush makes his international debut with Egypt and marks the occasion with a goal.
December 2021 – Egypt include Marmoush in their squad for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations, where he will go on to play in all their matches from the group stage to the final.
March 2022 – For the second time, he wins the Rookie of the Month award.
July 2022 – After being reintegrated by his parent club, Marmoush scores his first goal for Wolfsburg in a German Cup match.
January 2023 – Marmoush features at a second AFCON tournament with Egypt.
May 2023 – Eintracht Frankfurt announce they will be acquiring Marmoush on a free transfer.
August 2023 – Marmoush scores on his debut for Frankfurt in the German Cup and also in his second Bundesliga appearance for them.
September 2023 – He adds his first-ever European goal by scoring a penalty against Aberdeen in the Europa Conference League.
May 2024 – Marmoush finishes his debut season with Frankfurt on a career-best tally of 17 goals, some of which were against clubs like Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig.
October 2024 – Marmoush scores his first Europa League goal, while also completing a run of scoring in five successive Bundesliga matches before the international break.