Omar Marmoush’s rise at Eintracht and his partnership with Hugo Ekitike

Eintracht Frankfurt’s Omar Marmoush is on fire in the Bundesliga. He can’t stop scoring or assisting. So, how far can he take Frankfurt? To Bundesliga glory?

Mohamed Salah has dominated Egyptian football headlines as the poster boy for many years. Now aged 32, Salah’s tenure may end, with a new pharaoh looking to rule over the pyramids.

Omar Marmoush has been clinical, exceptional and mouth-wateringly creative at Eintracht Frankfurt. Attracting transfer interest from Liverpool. Is he the Egyptian King in waiting? And how does Hugo Ekitike contribute?

Marmoush allows Frankfurt to dream

Suppose Eintracht Frankfurt has been considered a good team for a few seasons. In that case, they should now be respected as one of the top teams in the Bundesliga alongside Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig, Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund. While not completely responsible for their ascendency, Marmoush has attacked opposition nets with natural vigor and precision.

The 25-year-old Egyptian has played in all 13 Bundesliga games for Frankfurt this season and made 20 direct goal contributions, 13 goals and seven assists. These are the number-crunching stats that forwards dream of when trying to emulate iconic legends like Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. For context, he is currently the top assister in the league and the second-highest goal scorer – only behind Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane.

This run of form can elevate Frankfurt beyond their pre-season expectations by bettering the sixth-place position from the 2023-24 campaign and advancing further in the cup competitions, both of which were subject to early exits last season. There’s still a lot of football to be played this season, but if Marmoush keeps his form up, they have a credible chance of winning silverware for the first time since the 2017-18 DFB Pokal triumph.

Ekitike is synced with Marmoush

While Omar Marmoush has the most incredible stats, he is joined by French 22-year-old strike partner Hugo Ekitike. The former Paris Saint-Germain player spent time on loan with Frankfurt last season but has come into his best form after making his move permanent over the summer. Ekitike seemingly has a sixth sense of where his Egyptian teammate will be and how he can set him up, whether it be a direct pass or recycling the ball via key passes.

However, this isn’t a one-way relationship. Marmoush regularly sets up Ekitike for goals, having done so in the 3-3 draw against Bayern Munich and the 7-2 hammering of VfL Bochum. Two results that showed the talent, tenacity and intent of this team.

Eintracht Frankfurt head coach Dino Toppmöller has already said this strike partnership deserves all the plaudits and hype-train fanfare. Dubbing the pair of players, the ‘Ma-ma-Tiké Axis’ is similar to MSN and other popular nicknames for goal-rich teammates.

Is this form or class?

As many footballing commentators state, form is temporary, and class is permanent. Which of these refers to Omar Marmoush and his sudden goal rush? While he is the player of the moment, he’s never been this proficient before. This player struggled for goals with VfL Wolfsburg. Granted, he was a young boy then, but there was no sign of a trajectory suggesting he’d ever score ten goals in nine games.

At the end of his time with Wolfsburg, he spent loans away from the club, notably playing 21 games with St. Pauli in Hamburg during their 2020-21 campaign in 2. Bundesliga. Again, there was no sign that the player could replicate or even compare closely to Mohamed Salah, as Marmoush struggled for both game time and goals in the second tier of German football.

He’s already surpassed his tally from last season, when he scored 12 goals in 29 games. Can he sustain this form, get 20-30 goals for the season, and take Frankfurt to the next level? It should be noted that Marmoush’s progression as a striker isn’t a gradual graph with ever-increasing goals throughout his career – it’s a massive spike in the current season.

Can Liverpool afford a new Egyptian king?

Whenever a player starts a prolific performance sequence, it’s natural for media sources and club scouts to get excited about the prospect of a big transfer move. Whether there is any substance to this rumor is another matter entirely. However, Liverpool could be on the lookout for a new Egyptian king.

Mohamed Salah still contributes to Liverpool’s success, but he’s 32. He’s not going to be at Anfield forever, and it wasn’t that long ago that he was seemingly on the verge of joining Al Ittihad in the financially blessed Saudi Pro League.

While it is not a mandatory quota for Fenway Sports Group to have at least one North African player on the books, there is a necessity for proven goal scorers. Marmoush fills the same criteria as Salah did when he joined AS Roma in 2017. An advanced forward capable of playing on the wing, who both scores and assists in a decent UEFA competition team. It seems like a carbon copy transfer to set Liverpool up for future success and create an Egyptian dynasty at Anfield.

Liverpool is known for its calculated approach to transfers, focusing on shrewd and strategic signings rather than the risky “spin-and-hope” tactics seen with other clubs. In many ways, Liverpool explores different slot types when assembling a squad capable of competing for top honors, carefully selecting each player to fit into a winning team structure.

Should Marmoush even leave Frankfurt?

Should a bid come in for him, Marmoush should consider whether he accepts a vastly different challenge. It has taken him until the age of 25 to be a consistent striker, never mind a headline-grabbing forward. The stars aligned for Marmoush at the Deutsche Bank Park with Dino Toppmöller and his teammates, who have made the team one of the best in the Bundesliga.

Teams rumored to be interested in signing the player include Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea. Even if Liverpool or another top team are interested in signing him in January or next season, he may revert to the below-par Marmoush of old. The Premier League is a different beast, and success in the Bundesliga doesn’t always translate to lifting trophies or scoring goals in the top flight of English football. Just ask Timo Werner, Jadon Sancho, Kai Havertz, Marko Marin, and Shinji Kagawa, all players who were exceptional in Germany but since struggled to be successful in England.