Ering Haaland is a big fan of one Tottenham transfer target
Omar Marmoush has emerged as a reported target for Tottenham Hotspur during the January transfer window. The Manchester City striker has been linked with a move to Spurs but the club only have a few days left to finalise a potential deal as deadline day looms.
The 26-year-old was signed by Pep Guardiola for £59million last January following a prolific spell at Eintracht Frankfurt, where he scored 37 goals in 67 games. Filling the void that Julian Alvarez had left in the City squad a few months earlier, Marmoush had an immediate impact upon his arrival.
The Egypt international ended last season with seven goals in 16 league games and appeared primed for a starring role this campaign. However, he had to wait until last weekend against Wolves for his first league goal. It was just Marmoush's third league start after overcoming a knee injury and also representing his country at the Africa Cup of Nations.
City’s recent signing of Antoine Semenyo has further fuelled speculation that Marmoush could leave, with Spurs among several clubs linked with a £26million move. Despite his slow start to the season, Marmoush has been lauded by the likes of Haaland and Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner during his career.
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Erling Haaland’s ‘special’ verdict
A few days after his move to City was completed, Marmoush started in a 3-1 win over Chelsea. Although he did not score, Erling Haaland was instantly impressed with his new teammate.
"I think especially in the first half you can see he has something special,” Haaland said after Marmoush’s debut. “There’s a reason City brought him because he has something special.
“He got straight into the team and It’s about getting to know him as soon as possible because there are so many important games coming. It’s about giving him confidence and he’s going to be a fantastic player for us.”
Haaland added: “He had an amazing first half of the season for Eintracht Frankfurt and hopefully, he’s going to have the same season with us now for the second half of the season.”
Loved by Oliver Glasner
Marmoush first crossed paths with Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner as a young striker at Wolfsburg. He made his debut in 2020, featuring 10 times under the manager, before being loaned out to St Pauli and Stuttgart.
While his game was still developing, Glasner was quickly convinced of the forward’s potential. Despite their short time working together at Wolfsburg, the pair remained in contact and Glasner spoke highly of Marmoush's character and footballing talent last year.
“He has all the abilities to become one of the top strikers in the world,” Glasner said ahead of facing his former player. “We could see from day one, when he trained with us, because he has the skills.
“What I also loved was, at that time, he was in Germany for two and a half years and he spoke German perfectly. This is quite unusual. You could see he's a great guy, he has all the skills.
“It's in the football career, sometimes it’s not a straight direction to the top. I think he was on loan at FC St Pauli, in VfB Stuttgart, performing for Wolfsburg and then the outstanding season for Frankfurt. Immediately he showed at Manchester City the kind of striker he is, so I'm really pleased for him, but not tomorrow!”