Barcelona closely follows Marmoush

Marmoush (7-2-1999, Cairo) has established himself as the main hope of the country, also thinking about the day when ‘Mo’, at 33 years old and without a definitive destination after announcing that he will not continue at Liverpool, leaves the forefront of elite football. His trajectory, moreover, breaks the usual path: he made the leap to the major European leagues without going through Zamalek or Al Ahly, the giants that usually act as springboards.

He was trained at Wadi Degla, an emerging club located south of the capital. With football as a priority, but keeping education very much in mind — reportedly even ahead at certain times — his breakout came in a youth match against Al Ahly: he scored a hat-trick to equalize a 3-0. That day opened the door to the first team, where he ended up being under the command of Mido, the forward who passed through Ajax and Celta.

At 18 years old, he headed to Germany to sign for Wolfsburg. The change was total: from a city of ten million inhabitants to another with just over a hundred thousand, with the added cultural shock. He did not master the language and himself recounted adaptation anecdotes, such as a domestic scare in the kitchen. Afterwards, he chained loans — St. Pauli and Stuttgart — until settling at Eintracht.

In Frankfurt, his impact was reflected in the numbers: 37 goals in 67 matches. He shared offensive mischief with Ekitiké and confirmed that he can move across the entire front line, although he started as a left winger. That profile caught the attention of Guardiola and Manchester City went after him, paying 75 million euros for his signing.

FC Barcelona

At the same time, his name has started to circulate as a market key for Barcelona. In the search to sign a ‘9’ for the next season, Deco would have him marked as an alternative, and this fits the idea that there is special monitoring tonight: he is linked with Barça, but his fit at City is not simple. He uses both feet and yet finds it hard to make his way because the spaces where he feels most comfortable are occupied by Haaland (as ‘9’) and Doku (on the left). A context that, according to what is suggested, could push him to rethink.