Liverpool continue to be linked with a move for Eintracht Frankfurt striker Omar Marmoush – and it is easy to see why they would be interested in the Egyptian.
Only Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush have reached double figures for goals and assists across Europe’s top five leagues this season.
Odd, isn’t it? Usually, Salah is an exclusive group of his own. But his international teammate gatecrashed this one just one day after the Liverpool No. 11 became the first player to register at least 10 goals and 10 assists this term.
Marmoush then matched Salah’s feat by scoring a free-kick against Stuttgart. It was the third successive game in which he’s scored a free-kick.
It was also yet another reminder of why Liverpool are seemingly interested in the Eintracht Frankfurt forward.
But why would the Merseyside club be considering a move for him? They’re pretty stacked in attack.
Arne Slot has Salah, Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez, Cody Gakpo and, when fit, Federico Chiesa at his disposal.
The fact Salah’s current deal expires at the end of the season doesn’t really impact Marmoush either given he’s not really a right winger, so that shouldn’t be used as a reason to push ahead with a move for Frankfurt’s No. 7.
Why Liverpool would want Marmoush
For starters, Marmoush can play across the forward line.
At Frankfurt this season he’s been paired in attack with Hugo Ekitike – another player Liverpool will likely be linked with at some point – but he does seem to favour the left channel.
The Reds have an array of forwards who can operate in that role. It is safe to assume Diaz and Gakpo are the left-wing options while Nunez and Jota are vying for the No. 9 role.
If you had to place Marmoush in one of those categories it’d probably be the latter, even though he’s not necessarily led the line at club level as a striker and his best form has come in a two-man attack.
So why could he be profiled as a No. 9 for Slot’s table-toppers?
Jota is injury prone, he’s not getting any younger and he doesn’t have a long-term deal at Anfield. There’s no escaping that.
His current deal expires in two years and there’s been no talk of a new one. He’ll want a pay rise given his importance to the team but can Liverpool really sign off on an improved deal given his age and injury record? He isn’t exactly reliable.
Then there’s Darwin.
He’s stepped up in the absence of Jota over recent weeks but the fact he’s into his third season with the club and still not a guaranteed starter cannot be overlooked. He scored a goal against Aston Villa but then missed two big chances.
He isn’t exactly reliable either, just in a different way altogether to Jota, and with Slot craving control and consistency, there’s an argument that the No. 9 is the antithesis of this.
However, Marmoush does share some similarities with Nunez – both are quick, both favour the left side and both are volume shooters. However, the Egypt international isn’t as erratic. And that could be a key factor.
A move for someone with his profile makes sense.
He’s physical, he’s got the height to deal with the rigours of the Premier League at six foot and he’s been a dual goal threat for Frankfurt over the past two seasons.
He’s deceptively fast, both with and without the ball, and he’s impressively strong.
What coaches have said
In a recent game against Bayern Munich – a game in which he scored two and assisted another – he bullied Dayot Upamecano. Afterwards, Vincent Kompany singled Marmoush out for praise:
“Marmoush is a player who’s only going to get better with time. What he did for Ekitike’s goal is not normal.
“To push past Upa with strength, no one did that before for the whole season.
“And then to make the right decision at the end, the quality in his strike, and the speed. Sometimes he looks quite relaxed, then when he gets going, he’s really fast.”
Dino Toppmoller, the Frankfurt boss, summed up his style of play perfectly:
“He’s responsible for producing danger up front. Shooting in goals and setting up others. He’s very difficult to defend due to his pace and how fast he can run.”
Liverpool want dangerous players in the final third. It is as simple as that.
The evidence
When looking at his numbers, he ticks boxes galore.
In fact, his underlying numbers have always been good. His output was just inconsistent. That could’ve been tied to age or simply because he wasn’t given regular minutes on a consistent basis.
During his season with Stuttgart, he racked up 1,600 minutes. He scored three goals from an expected goal (xG) rate of 5.1. Marmoush had an xG per 90 of 0.3 from 2.74 shots and an expected assists (xA) per 90 average of 0.11.
It was a limited sample size, but he was impacting in the final third.
At Wolfsburg, his xG per 90 was 0.37 from 2.95 shots.
For those who remember the attacking model Liverpool seemed to favour during Michael Edwards’ first stint with the club, these numbers tallied up with that.
The issue for Marmoush was that, in both of these campaigns, he underperformed.
He was judged on output rather than his underlying numbers. He then made the switch to Frankfurt and exploded.
Across 3,200 minutes since the start of last season, the attacker has an non-penalty xG per 90 average of 0.40 from 3.6 shots. He also has an xA per 90 average of 0.3.
Of course, there are some concerns when looking at him as a player and as a goal threat.
There’s a reluctance to use his weaker foot, for example.
Across the past two seasons, just 10 percent of his efforts in the Bundesliga have been via his left foot. He’s always trying to get the ball back onto his stronger side and this can make him a little predictable.
It was an issue with Luis Diaz for quite some time, though he appears much happier to use his weaker foot now.
Despite this, Marmoush is still something of a varied shooter.
A quarter of his attempts have come from outside of the penalty area. But when you’re scoring free-kicks in three successive games, you’re going to be given the license to shoot from distance. You would’ve earned it.
This would be an area of his game that Liverpool would need to work on so that good situations aren’t wasted with poor decisions. These aren’t disastrous numbers but if Slot is seeking control, you don’t want your No. 9 taking 25 percent of his total shots from 18-plus yards.
For context, Jota has attempted just one shot from outside of the box this term while Darwin is at 36 percent following the flurry of efforts against Villa. Three of his four shots from outside of the box this season arrived in that win.
One thing to note with Marmoush though is he likes to take his shots fairly early and this is a trait shared with Jota. Goalkeepers can’t set themselves.
Against Bayern Munich, for example, per FotMob, one of his goals had an xG value of 0.18, but his shot placement turns this chance into one with an xG-on-target value of 0.73.
He took it early and this caught Manuel Neuer out a little.
It’s also well-struck, hard and low. It is a Jota finish, isn’t it? The Portuguese forward is widely regarded as being the best finisher at the club, so why wouldn’t you want another player like that?
Marmoush needs this move
There’s a lot to like about him.
While signing him in the short term may seem a little excessive, in the long term – with uncertainty surrounding Diaz and Jota – it could prove to be a shrewd, proactive signing.
He’s a bit of a late bloomer after a stop-start career and can’t pass up an opportunity to sign for a Premier League title contender, can he?
Marmoush needs to take advantage of the interest in him – and it should be Liverpool who benefit.
