Omar Marmoush is Manchester City’s most important signing since Erling Haaland.
The Eintracht Frankfurt forward spent Tuesday in the north west undergoing his City medical ahead of a £60m transfer that is set to be announced before his new team look to lay down a marker in their pivotal Champions League clash with Paris Saint-Germain.
City regard this deal as a significant one, “ticking every box” as they look to fast-track a new era at the Etihad, piloting their way out of the most serious turbulence since Pep Guardiola took over in 2016.
There is a belief that he is good enough to be a franchise player in the same way that Haaland – who signed that remarkable nine-and-a-half year deal last week – is now regarded.
“He is special,” one source said. “Under Guardiola his ceiling is really, really high.”
It is a feeling shared by insiders at City, who think they have got a bargain given the price paid for players of equivalent profile and potential.
While cross city rivals Manchester United continue to complain about the “United tax” applied when they train their scattergun approach on potential targets, here is proof that a coherent recruitment strategy able to withstand the vicissitudes of form can pay dividends.
“It’s certainly a good buy,” says Ted Knutson, the former CEO of football data consultancy Statsbomb, who has advised Premier League clubs on recruitment.
“It’s one I really like. He’s flexible in his role and he’s also an elite pace guy, which is useful for them in the current Premier League, because the higher teams play these days, the way to break that is to get in behind and City have got players who can make those types of passes. He was basically nailed on for Spurs in the close season.
“That was a thing that should have happened in the summer but didn’t, I don’t know why it didn’t but I think Spurs will regret it. It just makes a lot of sense for City. It gives them resilience across a number of positions.”
Rarely has a signing made such a statement.
Coming on the back of the double signing of centre-backs Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis – and with a central midfielder still sought – it is being viewed in Premier League circles as the most brazen example yet of City’s “business as usual” approach with a resolution to the 115 charges for breaching financial regulations looming ever closer.
That potential earthquake could yet shake the foundations that have been laid this winter.
But City believe that – faced with a series of issues that need to be resolved – they are scrambling past danger and towards a brighter future. Time will tell but there’s a spring in City’s step again. Here’s why.
Recruitment
After the forward and centre-backs comes the most important signing of them all: a central midfielder who can replace Rodri without being a downgrade. It is a tough ask.
“I think they’ve got more buys to come,” Knutson tells The i Paper.
“One thing we’re seeing in the rumour space is that they’re not happy with the midfield options that they have to buy right now which is why you’re seeing a lot of push on Douglas Luiz as a loan and a loan only. I don’t think they’ll pursue that as a purchase.”
There is scepticism that Luiz is a serious option. Some in the recruitment business see him as a smokescreen for a spectacular deal either in the coming days or delayed until the summer.
“They’ll either do something bigger or nothing at all,” Knutson says.
“I don’t think the right option exists right now so I think they’ll let it ride until the summer.”
Keep calm
The issues were really stacking up for City in the autumn.
With Pep Guardiola’s future still unresolved, it felt like the foundations of the dynasty were being threatened when Txiki Begiristain decided to step down.
But City’s response was – in the words of one source – to “block out the external noise”.
There was amusement and bemusement at the suggestion they had been snubbed when Ruben Amorim joined Manchester United (insiders were always adamant that the playing philosophy that he is so wedded to would not have suited City) as the club worked behind-the-scenes to convince Guardiola to stay.
In Hugo Viana – who has begun his handover period with Begiristain – they have also appointed an executive who has the personality and skillset to make a tricky transition work.
That it was all done and dusted before news of Begiristain’s exit leaked was a source of pride inside the Etihad.
How back are they?
Form has improved of late but the wins have come against West Ham, Ipswich Town, Salford City and Leicester City.
A team of City’s calibre should never be extended by those fixtures but look at what comes next: after PSG and Chelsea they go to Arsenal and then host Newcastle and Liverpool in the Premier League.
They round off February with a trip to bogey side Spurs. Perhaps it is best to reserve judgement until then.
“We’ll know a lot more about how back City are after PSG and Chelsea,” Ahsan Naeem, the host of the popular City podcast 93:20, admits.
“One of the functions of Guardiola football – one of the things that stands out from watching Pep football over the last eight or nine years – is that when City play at City’s level you don’t really worry about the opposition or the level they’re at.
“For me the thing about Ipswich and the first 80 minutes at Brentford before we conceded the two goals was that it was City playing at City’s level. I don’t think there’ll be a dramatic change when we play PSG or Chelsea.
“More or less out of possession we will have the issues we’ve had in central midfield which won’t be fixed until Rodri comes back or we sign a midfield player. But outside that the attack is getting back to where you want it.
“I’m more optimistic going into these two games than I was because I see some green shoots of recovery and a lot of classic signs of City under Pep. When you see that you feel more positive.”
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