Liverpool have suffered a blow in their pursuit of Mohamed Salah's Egyptian teammate Omar Marmoush, with Eintracht Frankfurt CEO Markus Krosche having expressed confidence that the club can keep hold of the forward.
Marmoush's breakout season is showing no signs of slowing down having scored his side's winner against Slavia Prague in the Europa League on Thursday, netting a 53rd-minute free kick to give Frankfurt all three points.
The goal took the 25-year-old's tally to 13 in 15 appearances for the Eagles, which when combined with his assists, adds up to 22 goal contributions for Eintracht Frankfurt this season.
His club are currently third in the Bundesliga and have scored 23 goals, with Marmoush either directly or indirectly responsible for 16 of them.
The attacker's form has seen him linked with a host of clubs including Liverpool for a fee of roughly £51m, but CEO Krosche believes that Frankfurt can retain the services of the Egyptian beyond the summer.
"I'm obviously pleased that he's still scoring. I think Omar feels comfortable here so we shouldn't always discuss the transfer window or possible transfers," Krosche told reporters.
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Would Marmoush fit in at Liverpool?
Although Arne Slot's side are first in the Premier League table and boast the league's joint fourth-best offensive record having scored 19 goals, they could benefit from attacking reinforcements.
Striker Diogo Jota is not scheduled to return until some time after the November international break, and his absence continues a trend of the Portuguese missing large amounts of games every season.
While other forwards such as Darwin Nunez, Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz are in good form, all three have been plagued by inconsistencies since arriving at Anfield.
Liverpool still have a reliance on Salah to produce goals and assists, and it would be a good idea to diversify their offensive output given the winger's age and contract situation.
Additionally, Marmoush is comfortable playing across the forward line, and his versatility would add to Slot's excellent attacking options.
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Can Marmoush maintain form?
One potential area of concern regarding the Eagles' forward would be whether he can maintain his stunning form throughout the rest of the season.
The Egyptian has scored 10 goals in the Bundesliga from an xG total of just 5.2, and while stats can be misleading at times, it is incredibly rare that players outperform their xG by such an amount.
Many consider Erling Haaland to be the world's best striker, with the Norwegian scoring 10 league goals in his first five games from an xG total of 5.8, but he has since scored just once in his subsequent five top-flight matches despite producing 3.8 xG.
Marmoush also prefers operating on the left side of the pitch, and given the Reds already have a number of players that generally gravitate towards the left such as Jota, Diaz, Gakpo and Nunez, ensuring everyone gets enough playtime in their ideal position could be problematic.
However, there is no doubting that the Egyptian is among the most in-form attackers in Europe, and based on his showings for Eintracht Frankfurt this season, it would not be surprising if suitors came forward for his signature in the summer.
Lewis Nolan
