Man City may ignore Real Madrid and PSG warnings in Omar Marmoush pursuit
It's little wonder that Frankfurt are prepared to sell Omar Marmoush when you look at their recent sales.
They had Luka Jovic banging in their goals before 2019, when Real Madrid came in and paid £52.4m to sign the hotshot striker. Jovic had scored 40 goals in 93 games for Frankfurt, but managed just three in 51 for the Spanish giants.
A few years later, Randal Kolo Muani shot to prominence with the Bundesliga club, bagging 26 goals in 50 games as well as 17 assists. He was part of the France squad that reached the 2022 World Cup final and PSG were persuaded to pay a whopping £76.4m for the player, but he has only managed 11 goals in 54 appearances.
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That's two huge European clubs who have paid hefty sums and got very little return for their money, while Frankfurt have banked the cash and moved on brilliantly. They may want a big fee for Omar Marmoush from Manchester City, but the Blues have to see the warning signs from what has happened to two of their rivals.
If that has to be considered, City should be confident of knowing which talent can thrive outside of the Bundesliga with their record over the last 10 years. Kevin De Bruyne quickly came good on the £54m he cost ten years ago, and Ilkay Gundogan, Leroy Sane, Stefan Ortega, and Manu Akanji have all been big hits.
Perhaps it isn't surprising given Pep Guardiola worked in Germany for three years before successfully conquering the Premier League, but it is a market where City know there are exceptional talents and trust themselves to find them.
They are coming into Marmoush negotiations in a slightly different position, with their poor form in the league jeopardising their chance of qualifying for the Champions League next season. That shouldn't change City assessments of the player, but the millions that will be added on for a January sale in these circumstances does increase the risk of the transfer and the pressure to get it right.
City cannot say they were not warned if they go through with Marmoush and suddenly find that his goalscoring record plummets in a new league. However, they have more than enough examples of being able to identify top talent from the Bundesliga to be able to follow their own instincts and data rather than being warned off by the Real Madrid and PSG examples.
