Omar Marmoush: How Man City may use Egyptian forward & how he ...

It is rare that a 25-year-old suddenly emerges as a £59m signing, almost from nowhere.

While Omar Marmoush has been a relatively successful goalscorer in the German Bundesliga for a few seasons, he has had to patiently wait for his big break before being announced as Manchester City' s third January signing on Thursday after a prolific start to the season.

He arrived in Germany from the Egyptian second division as an 18-year-old, having been spotted by ex-Manchester United winger Ryan Giggs, spending a couple of seasons in the youth side before making his senior debut in May 2020.

Giggs, then an analyst for Uefa, saw Marmoush at an under-17s tournament in Dubai and told an agent about him, who alerted Pierre Littbarski, head of scouting at Wolfsburg.

"Marmoush was really fast at that time, took a lot of risks, was technically strong and did some surprising things." Littbarski said later. "He was an uncut diamond."

Wolfsburg invited Marmoush, 17 at the time, to a trial session and subsequently signed him for the club's youth academy.

"Imagine this, he goes from Cairo to Wolfsburg – that is a completely different world," Littbarski added.

"He just wanted to play. This is a typical street footballer. When he comes into such a passing-oriented system, then it is not easy."

Back in 2021, the versatile forward was surplus to requirements and sent out on loan by Wolfsburg.

He had loan spells at St Pauli and Stuttgart, only displaying his abilities in spurts but never over the course of a full season.

It was the move from Wolfsburg to Frankfurt on a free in 2023 that turned Marmoush into a sought-after striker that has now seen Manchester City acquire his services.

Despite the serious influx of cash, Frankfurt were not happy when the Blues first contacted them about a potential January transfer, because Marmoush has become their life insurance, repeatedly scoring game-winning goals right until the very end.

Frankfurt can feel grateful for the 37 goals and 20 assists which he delivered in 67 games but, at the same time, the Egyptian ought to be thankful to Frankfurt and particularly manager Dino Toppmoller for bringing out the best in him.

After a 2-0 win over Dortmund last Friday, Marmoush, who did not play in the game, said goodbye to the fans and then was celebrated by his team-mates.

A team-mate of Liverpool's Mohamed Salah for his country, Marmoush has become one of the breakout stars in Europe this season with 20 goals in 26 games for Frankfurt - 15 in the Bundesliga.

German football expert Raphael Honigstein told BBC Sport: "He is really dynamic, a wide forward who can play through the middle.

"Some people have compared him to Mohamed Salah, perhaps not as tricky or as explosive but his finishing is incredible."