Omar Marmoush: From Free Transfer to Tottenham Target
Omar Marmoush arrived in Germany as a free transfer and left it as a £59m forward. The journey in between tells you why Tottenham are so intrigued.
From bargain to Bundesliga force
Eintracht Frankfurt picked him up from Wolfsburg for nothing in May 2023. He repaid them with interest.
Seventeen goals in his first season across all competitions set the tone, but the 2024-2025 campaign turned him into a headline act. In just 17 Bundesliga matches, Marmoush struck 15 times from 8.9 expected goals and supplied 9 assists. He wasn’t just finishing chances; he was bending the numbers.
By the time Manchester City came calling in January 2025, the Egyptian had 20 goals and 13 assists in 26 games in all competitions. City wrote a £59m cheque and brought him to the Etihad.
He arrived not just as a scorer, but as a set-piece specialist. Marmoush became the first player in Europe’s top five leagues since Lionel Messi in 2019 to score directly from a free-kick in three consecutive official matches. That kind of company turns heads.
A blistering start at City – then the sting at Wembley
The early months in Manchester offered flashes of a devastating forward. Marmoush hit the first hat-trick of his career against Newcastle, then delivered the winner against Bournemouth in the FA Cup quarter-final. He faced Bournemouth again in the league and unleashed a long-range strike that was later voted goal of the season.
The arc was steep. Then it dipped.
In the 2025 FA Cup final against Crystal Palace at Wembley, Erling Haaland handed him the ball for a penalty. Marmoush stepped up. Dean Henderson guessed right. City lost. The image of the save lingered.
Nedum Onuoha, who knows the club and the pressure around it, refuses to let that moment become the defining snapshot.
“When I see Marmoush, I don't remember the missed penalty, but rather I see the power he possesses in some of his runs in behind the defenders,” the former City defender told BBC.
Numbers that don’t tell a failure story
Since joining City, Marmoush has scored 16 goals in 62 appearances in all competitions. Eight of those came in 36 matches during the 2025-2026 season.
The headline, though, is his shrinking role in the Premier League. He started only eight league games and logged around 700 minutes – fewer than he managed in half a season after first arriving.
Three goals and three assists in the league feel modest. The underlying data paints a different picture. His expected goals stood at 3.53, almost identical to his actual tally. This wasn’t a forward repeatedly fluffing his lines; it was a forward not being fed enough or used as often.
Onuoha points to the sheer congestion in City’s attack. Haaland owns the central striker berth. Around him, Pep Guardiola’s side leans on specialist number 10s and wingers. The zones Marmoush can occupy are crowded.
That’s why the move to Tottenham feels like a reset, not a step down.
Built for De Zerbi’s chaos
Marmoush is a natural centre-forward, but he’s never been chained to the penalty spot. At Frankfurt he played as a central striker, second striker and off the left. City used him through the middle, out wide and behind another forward.
That flexibility fits Roberto De Zerbi’s blueprint. His teams thrive on forwards rotating, dropping short to receive, then sprinting into the gaps behind a retreating defence.
Onuoha believes Marmoush is at his most dangerous when he lives on the last shoulder.
“Although he is good when he drops towards the ball, I think he is better when he plays on the shoulder of the defender,” he said. “He needs a team that consistently plays him into the spaces behind the defence and forces the opponent to run towards their own goal.”
The data from the 2025-2026 Premier League season backs that up. Per 90 minutes, Marmoush outperformed both Dominic Solanke and Richarlison in most attacking metrics, with the exception of aerial duels.
- His output per 90:
- 0.77 goals and assists
- 3.86 shots
- 1.55 chances created
- 5.67 progressive carries
- 1.29 successful dribbles
- 6.82 touches in the box
- 11.46 runs in behind
Those are the numbers of a forward who doesn’t just wait for service. He drags the ball up the pitch, commits defenders, and manufactures his own looks at goal. For Tottenham, often tasked with breaking down deep, compact blocks, that profile is a weapon.
“Sometimes it's just about how well a player fits the team,” Onuoha said. “Marmoush's ability to run in behind the defence and link up play could be very important for Tottenham. They won't hesitate to play balls in behind the defence and force the opponent to retreat.”
Not Solanke’s replacement – his partner?
The obvious question is what this means for Solanke. The answer might be: less competition, more combination.
Marmoush has long shown he can play off another striker. At Frankfurt, that dual-threat role unlocked him. The same dynamic could emerge in north London.
Solanke brings brute strength and penalty-box presence. He can pin centre-backs, occupy two at once and provide the wall pass. Marmoush can then drift wide, slip between the lines and explode into the spaces created by that physical battle.
Onuoha can already picture it.
“Solanke is different from Marmoush, as he has a greater physical presence,” he said. “I can imagine the goalkeeper playing a low ball to Solanke, with Marmoush coming from behind him to receive it, and that becomes the start of the attack.
“Each of them can complement the other. Playing with two strikers could bring out more of Marmoush's strengths.”
From Frankfurt to Manchester to Tottenham, Marmoush has followed a path that keeps raising the stakes. The missed penalty at Wembley will always be part of his story. The real question now is whether north London becomes the place he finally writes the chapter that sticks.
