Omar Marmoush's debut "one of spectacular promise" - Why Pep Guardiola's tactical tweak "isn't going to harm" Man City going forward

Manchester City expert Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany has labelled Omar Marmoush's debut in the Citizens' 3-1 Premier League win over Chelsea last weekend as "one of spectacular promise".

The 25-year-old completed his move to the Etihad Stadium from Eintracht Frankfurt for a reported €75m (£63m) last Thursday, becoming City's third signing of the January transfer window after defenders Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis.

Marmoush trained with his new teammates for the first time the following day before being thrown straight into Pep Guardiola's starting lineup against Chelsea, operating in a central role next to Phil Foden and in behind striker Erling Haaland.

Although Marmoush was unable to get his name on the scoresheet - having previously netted 15 times in 17 Bundesliga games for Frankfurt earlier this season - the Egyptian certainly made a promising first impression in front of the Etihad faithful.

"Hugely impressed! It wasn't a spectacular debut, but it was one of spectacular promise," McInerney told Sports Mole.

"The Bundesliga is an incredibly high level, but when you come to [the Premier League and] any new country, it's always going to be difficult to adapt straight away, especially with the demands that are on Manchester City and especially given where City are right now - it has been a tumultuous season for City.

'I couldn't be more excited about what Marmoush is going to do at City'

"I honestly believe Marmoush's impact, the way that he plays, forced City to sort of change their setup a little bit. Guardiola also changed it due to a lack of control, but Marmoush just really suited this City side.

"His runs in behind...he's electric. That guy is as a real hunger for goals and hunger to impact the game. He works back as well.

"I was a little bit worried initially of him just playing purely as a left winger. I spoke to a few people prior who watch the Bundesliga more than I do, and they said prior to him being converted into a striker at Frankfurt, he wasn't really that much of a success.

"Teams like St Pauli and Wolfsburg put him out wide thinking he'd be a new [Mohamed] Salah. He'll hug the touchline, drift inside occasionally, but he'll play as a left winger. It didn't really suit him. He's better when he's close to the striker - in this case Haaland - and Guardiola clearly let him do that, even though he's normally out wide on the left.

"I couldn't be more excited about what he's going to do at City. He has the touch, he has the pace, he has the self-confidence, he can clearly strike a ball as well, he clearly got good movement - offside a couple times (against Chelsea) but that's probably just over-eagerness if I'm being honest - and he gives a new outlet for Manchester City."

An honour to make my @ManCity debut with a big three points 🩵 pic.twitter.com/yddyuTuvYU

— Omar Marmoush (@OmarMarmoush) January 25, 2025

McInerney: 'Marmoush looks set to be a star'

The inclusion of Marmoush, coupled with Man City's defensive issues led to Guardiola altering his system slightly against Chelsea, and McInerney believes that the Citizens benefitted with Marmoush occupying a central attacking role.

"City usually have two holding midfielders, a combination of usually [Mateo] Kovacic, [Ilkay Gundogan] or Bernardo [Silva], two of those three with [Kevin] De Bruyne ahead of them and the full-backs push up, meaning there's usually just four defenders back trying to cover," said McInerney.

"But Guardiola decided against Chelsea to have Bernardo, Kovacic and Gundogan all staying back, but as a result of that, he just gave free rein for [Matheus] Nunes and [Josko] Gvardiol to get really far forward (as wing-backs), which also then gave rein for Marmoush and Foden just to tuck in behind Haaland, and it just worked so, so well for City.

"Because Marmoush has that particular set of traits, I don't think Savinho or [Jeremy] Daku could do that inverted role. They're very different players, they want to be wide beating their man.

"Marmoush is going to bring goals, you can tell already, he doesn't lack self-confidence, he has the right touch, the right work rate, and he looks set to be a star - a really exciting debut. I'd be amazed if he doesn't score in his first few games because he has a hunger for goals already."

McInerney has also shared his thoughts on whether Man City will look to take a more direct approach in upcoming matches, with Marmoush and Haaland capable of running in behind defences and meeting long balls forward from the likes of Ederson, while he has also explained why the Citizens "desperately" needed their victory over Chelsea.

Press play on the video at the top of this article to hear the full discussion.