Liverpool transfers: Reds tipped for 'straightforward' Omar Marmoush deal

Liverpool have more pressing concerns in the transfer market and yet there still might be legs to the Omar Marmoush links. 

Bild, back in March, claimed the 25-year-old was a target for the Reds. They weren’t the only Premier League club interested in the versatile Eintracht Frankfurt forward with Arsenal also mentioned.

Read more: Marmoush deal could have huge Salah impact

Despite this interest, he remained in Germany during the summer transfer window but his explosive start to the new campaign hasn’t gone unnoticed.

A host of clubs are reportedly keeping tabs on him and the Bundesliga side are eager to get him to sign a new deal, without a release clause.

His current deal expires in 2027 and Frankfurt want to maximise their profit on a player they brought to the club on a free transfer in 2023 by securing him to a long-term deal.

Marmoush can't pass up opportunity

On one hand, Marmoush does owe the club for giving him a home.

Before his time at Deutsche Bank Park, he had struggled to settle with VfB Stuttgart and Wolfsburg. Die Adler have given him this platform and he’s taken full advantage. He’s currently in the form of his life.

But, at the same time, Marmoush needs to take advantage of the interest in him. He’s a bit of a late bloomer and he can’t pass up an opportunity to sign for a Premier League title contender, can he?

But why would Liverpool be interested considering they’re pretty stacked in attack?

Where would Liverpool play Marmoush?

Arne Slot has Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez, Cody Gakpo and 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 a right-winger, so that shouldn’t be used as a reason to push ahead with a move for the Eintracht Frankfurt No7.

Marmoush, though, can play across the forward line. He’s been paired in attack with Hugo Ekitike this season but he does seem to favour the left channel. Liverpool 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 No9 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.

Liverpool's impending No9 issues

So why do I think he’d be profiled as a No9 for Liverpool?

Well, Jota is injury-prone, he’s not getting any younger and he doesn’t have a long-term deal at Anfield.

His current deal expires in two years and I get the impression negotiations over an extension could prove to be difficult. He’ll want a pay rise given his importance to the team but can the Reds really sign off on an improved deal given his age and injury record?

He’s reportedly already on £140,000-per-week and his existing contract expires when he’s 30. Liverpool are going to be wary about potentially extending his stint on Merseyside, especially when he’ll be on even more money.

Something to ponder.

Then there’s Darwin.

He’s not been given many chances under Slot yet but if he doesn’t deliver this season, there’s an argument to be made for Liverpool to cash in on the former Benfica man.

Marmoush shares some similarities with the No9 - both are quick, both favour the left side and both are volume shooters. So, in some ways, it’d be a like-for-like swap.

Kompany praises Marmoush

Just the Egypt international isn’t as erratic. The 32-cap international could play the Jota role - rotating with Diaz and bringing others into play. At least in theory, anyway. A move for someone with his profile makes sense.

He’s 6ft, a dual-goal threat for Frankfurt over the past two seasons, he’s quick, with and without the ball and he’s deceptively strong.

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 [Hugo] Ekitike’s goal is not normal. To push past Upa [Dayot Upamecano] 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.”

And his own boss, Dino Toppmöller, 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.”

Marmoush numbers stack up

When looking at his numbers, he ticks boxes.

In fact, his underlying numbers have always been on. He was just inconsistent. During his season with VfB Stuttgart, he racked up 1,600 minutes. He scored three goals from an xG of 5.1. Marmoush had an xG90 of 0.3 from 2.74 shots and an xA90 average of 0.11. Limited sample size, but he was impacting the final third.

At Wolfsburg, his xG90 was 0.37 from 2.95 shots. The issue for the forward 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 Eintracht Frankfurt and exploded. Across 2,800 minutes since the start of last season, the attacker has an NPxG90 of 0.49 from 3.9 shots. He also has an xA90 of 0.45.

There’s the dual threat I was talking about. Of course, there are some concerns when looking at him as a player and as a goal threat.

The potential drawbacks

There’s a reluctance to use his weaker foot, for example. Across the past two seasons, just 10% 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, in my opinion. This reluctance extends to his passing too, so just something to note.

He’s also quite random with his efforts. Over a quarter of his attempts have come from outside of the penalty area. So this would be an area of his game that the Reds 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 No9 taking 30% of his shots from 18+ yards.

Marmoush likes to take his shots early. This part of his game reminds me of Jota.

Against Bayern Munich, his shot placement turned an effort with an xG value of 0.18 into one with an xG on Target value of 0.73, It just felt like a Jota finish.

There's a lot to like about him. I can see why he might be on Liverpool's radar. Given Salah could endorse this move and Marmoush is represented by the same agency as Ibrahima Konate, this could be a straightforward one for the Reds if they do want to move for him in the near future.