At 25, new Manchester City striker Omar Marmoush can be considered a late bloomer. Pep Guardiola’s acquisition of the 25-year-old for £59million has not come as the culmination of sustained interest, like a Jack Grealish, nor burst onto the scene as a youngster like Erling Haaland.

Nonetheless, the Egyptian has been on the elite radar since he was 17, when he signed for Bundesliga club Wolfsburg upon the recommendation of, ironically, a Manchester United legend.

In his role as a UEFA analyst, Ryan Giggs spotted Marmoush in the Egyptian second division, before recommending him to an agent that quickly led to a transfer to Germany.

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Unsurprisingly, the step up was an overwhelming one, and Marmoush, having played just twice for his Egyptian side Wadi Degla FC, spent four seasons in Wolfsburg’s second team before flattering to deceive in two bit-part seasons for their first team.

Loans to St Pauli and Stuttgart followed, where Marmoush scored 10 goals in 42 games split evenly across the two clubs. And after one last, unsuccessful, bite at the cherry at Wolfsburg that yielded six goals in 36 matches, he was allowed to move to Eintracht Frankfurt on a free transfer to help replace Randal Kolo Muani, who had departed for PSG.

Eyebrows were raised when he took the number seven shirt at Frankfurt. Just a month before he signed, he had been substituted shortly after coming on as a sub with Wolfsburg 4-0 up against Bochum. Manager Niko Kovac cited a poor defensive effort.

In spite of that, Kovac had actually been keen to keep hold of the striker given Wolfsburg’s frailty in front of goal that season; the free transfer had come about with Wolfsburg reportedly unable to meet Marmoush's wage demands.

Success was instantaneous at Frankfurt. He scored 17 in his first season, before exploding this term with 33 goal involvements in just 26 games. Naturally, he captured the adulation of Frankfurt’s fanbase. After his first season, interest came from Nottingham Forest and Liverpool, and Frankfurt went as far as making a video, played on stadium screens, confirming that Marmoush would stay, an announcement met with several minutes of applause.

In the end, despite Frankfurt’s best interest, Marmoush’s performances became hard to ignore, and a once speculative asking price of £40 million was happily overtaken by City.

What can City fans expect?

Performances in big games. After Marmoush delivered two goals and an assist in a 3-3 draw against Bayern Munich in October, his opponent's Director of Sport, Max Eberl said that Marmoush has a "killer instinct in front of goal.

Bayern's praise of Marmoush didn't stop there.

"He is in outstanding form. Of course we wanted to do something against him, but such players know what they have to do and take advantage of their moments", were the words Vincent Kompany.

Thomas Muller meanwhile, a strong authority on goalscoring, told reporters that he boasts qualities that bode well for the Premier League, and City's high press: "He just keeps running and has brutal speed".

At Frankfurt, Marmoush combined in a hugely successful striker pairing with Hugo Ekitike, the latter contributing 19 goals in 26 games this season. The pair's ability to combine and share goals is encouraging considering the Erling Haaland shaped elephant in the room, while Muller's comments about the Egyptian's speed could indicate Guardiola may back his man out wide.

Indeed, his passing, dribbling, and crossing stats all sit in the upper percentiles in the Bundesliga this season. While Pep's other new signings, Vitor Reis and Abdukodir Khusanov, may not be immediately match ready, Marmoush is.