Newcastle weigh Omar Marmoush move as Manchester City future remains uncertain

Newcastle United are preparing to make a strong move for Manchester City forward Omar Marmoush, whose future at the Etihad Stadium is increasingly uncertain ahead of the summer transfer window.

The Egypt international has struggled to establish himself as a regular starter since joining City, leaving open the possibility that he could leave the club. Marmoush, 27, is attracting interest from several European sides, although none has yet made him an undisputed priority.

According to CaughtOffside, there is a realistic chance of Marmoush departing Manchester City this summer because he has not secured a consistent place in the starting line-up.

Tottenham Hotspur and Barcelona are among the clubs monitoring his situation. Barcelona are understood to value Marmoush’s ability and are looking for relatively low-cost ways to strengthen their attack, particularly because a deal for Julian Alvarez would be expensive. That could make the Manchester City forward a more realistic option for the Catalan club.

However, Barcelona’s interest has not yet developed into a decisive move. Their activity regarding Marmoush has been described as relatively slow, with the player not appearing to sit at the top of their list of priorities.

Tottenham have also made informal contact over a possible deal, but the London club are currently concentrating on other targets. Savinho and Cody Gakpo are understood to be among their leading priorities, which has contributed to the lack of significant progress in their pursuit of Marmoush.

Newcastle’s interest could become more significant because the club have the financial strength to pursue the forward and are in need of attacking reinforcements after a difficult summer.

Anthony Gordon has moved to Barcelona, Sandro Tonali has joined Tottenham Hotspur and Bruno Guimaraes has transferred to Arsenal. Those departures have generated substantial funds for Newcastle through transfer fees and could give them the financial capacity to meet Manchester City’s demands for Marmoush.

Transfer-market specialists expect Newcastle to be well placed to satisfy a valuation of between €60m and €65m for the Egypt international. That figure would make the proposed move one of the major deals of the window.

A source told CaughtOffside: “Newcastle realise they need to make strong signings to improve their attack; the forwards they signed last summer have not met expectations, while there are serious doubts over Nick Woltemade’s future, and Marmoush ranks highly on their list of targets.”

The source added: “The deal will not be cheap, but Newcastle are under pressure to make a major signing of this kind at the moment, especially after the significant financial returns they have made from selling players. There has been no official move yet, but this is certainly one to watch.”

Manchester City are not obliged to sell Marmoush, particularly because he could provide valuable squad depth during the upcoming season. Nevertheless, intermediaries familiar with the forward’s situation believe City would be willing to sanction his departure if they receive a suitable offer.

The coming days could therefore prove important in determining Marmoush’s future. Newcastle’s financial position may give them an advantage over Tottenham and Barcelona, but no formal proposal has yet been made and Manchester City have not indicated that a transfer is inevitable.