Man City may regret selling £50m ace who could have been their own Marmoush

Manchester City have held back with their spending in the January transfer window. A terrible run of form between October and December meant the Citizens are only fourth in the Premier League, with 38 points to their name. The 12-point gap between them and Liverpool seems like it could be too big to close.

Yet, that has not stopped them from spending copious amounts of money to try and fix the issues. Two of those have been defensive signings, bringing in Abdukodir Khusanov from Lens for £33.6m plus add-ons. Brazilian talent Vitor Reis also joined the club from Palmeiras for £29.6m.

Not only have they brought in some defensive reinforcements, but City have also added some attacking depth to the squad, notably signing Omar Marmoush.

Why Man City signed Omar Marmoush

The deal for City to sign Marmoush was confirmed on Thursday morning, just hours after their 4-2 defeat away to Paris Saint-Germian in the Champions League. The Egyptian forward cost an initial £59m, with City set to pay an extra £4.2m in add-ons.

It has been a really impressive season for the 25-year-old so far. The forward has 20 goals and 14 assists in just 26 games across all competitions for Eintracht Frankfurt, registering a goal involvement in all but seven matches.

Perhaps the best contribution from the Egyptian this term came against Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich. He scored twice and assisted once in a 3-3 draw versus Vincent Kompany’s side, a hugely impressive performance against one of Europe’s heavyweights.

Although he can play out wide or as a second striker, Marmoush has mainly played as a centre-forward this term. That is exactly what the Citizens need, with Erling Haaland the only recognised number nine in the first-team squad.

However, if the 2022/23 treble winners had put their faith in the academy talents they produce, there is another player who could have seamlessly fitted into the City squad this season.

The academy star Man City let get away

The player in question here is Ipswich Town striker and former City academy star Liam Delap. It has been an extraordinary season so far for the 21-year-old, since making a £20m move to East Anglia over the summer.

Delap was part of a golden generation in the City academy, which included the likes of Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers. There is certainly an argument to say that City should have kept all of those players, given what they have gone on to achieve. However, selling Delap should be right up there given they sold Julian Alvarez last summer.

So far this season, the England U21 international has eight goals and two assists in 21 games for the Tractor Boys. That is impressive in itself, but even more so when you consider how much Kieran McKenna’s side are struggling; they currently sit 18th in the Premier League.

The former City star has scored and assisted in the same game three times this season, including matchwinning contributions away to Tottenham Hotspur and at home against top-four contenders Chelsea.

He has proven why he is a "top striker in the making", as football talent scout Jacek Kulig described him.

His underlying numbers via Sofascore this term are impressive. Like Marmoush, he is clearly a clinical striker, with a 22% conversion rate to go along with his eight goals. Delap also works hard off the ball, winning 4.5 duels per game.

Delap stats in 2024/25 PL season Stat Number Starts 20 Goals 8 Expected goals 6.36xG Conversion rate 22% Assists 2 Big chances created 2 Duels won per game 4.5 Stats from Sofascore

Valued at a reported £50m by Ipswich according to journalist Simon Phillips, the striker’s trajectory this season has been immense. Whilst his numbers are not on the same level as Marmoush, he is playing for a side threatened with Premier League relegation.

Perhaps Pep Guardiola’s side could have saved themselves the money and kept Delap rather than buying the Egyptian striker. Although the Frankfurt talent joins the club on the back of some good form, maybe the Citizens should have put trust in a key member of their 2020 FA Youth Cup-winning side.

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