Simon Stone, chief football news reporter
Manager Pep Guardiola admitted a couple of weeks ago he made a mistake not following the advice of senior figures at City in the summer by refreshing his squad. Now we are seeing the result of that self-reflection.
Marmoush’s arrival is slightly different to those of Reis and Khusanov in that the Egyptian is filling the void left by the sale of Julian Alvarez to Atletico Madrid rather than to eventually replace older players, with time to bed in.
It has been clear for most of the season that Erling Haaland needed someone to share the burden of responsibility for scoring goals and threatening the opposition.
Marmoush is that man.
He has scored 20 goals in all competitions for Frankfurt over the first half of the campaign.
While it remains to be seen how Marmoush links with Haaland, who signed his own mammoth nine-and-a-half-year deal last week, Guardiola will at least feel he has more attacking options for the remainder of the campaign.
Marmoush is expected to be available for Saturday’s Premier League game with Chelsea, although he cannot be registered for next week’s crucial Champions League encounter with Club Brugge, which City must win to secure a play-off berth.
