Sources: Pep Guardiola to block Omar Marmoush deal after Aston Villa reveal
Pep Guardiola’s recent faith in Omar Marmoush means he is set to stay at Man City beyond the January window despite interest from Tottenham and Aston Villa.
Marmoush has struggled for form at City this season after he sustained an injury on international duty with Egypt in September.
Sources told Football Insider last month that Tottenham had set their sights on Marmoush ahead of January, but he has remained a City player and netted his second goal of the campaign against Wolves last weekend.
Marmoush has not been keen on joining Spurs, as revealed by Football Insider, with Guardiola also trusting him to start against Galatasaray in the Champions League in midweek.
Aston Villa recently emerged as the favourites to sign Marmoush, but as I revealed on the latest edition of Football Insider’s Transfer Insider podcast, he is not set to leave the Etihad Stadium before next Monday’s deadline.
Marmoush will not leave Man City to join Tottenham or Villa
Marmoush’s increased game time since he returned from the Africa Cup of Nations has dissuaded Guardiola from allowing him to depart ahead of the latter stages of the campaign.
Speaking on the Transfer Insider podcast, I explained: I don’t see this one at all. Obviously he has come back from the AFCON and has started the last two games for City, scoring against Wolves.
“He’s obviously still in Pep Guardiola’s plans, from selecting him in those two games.
“I think Marmoush himself would want to be playing more regularly, but he’s taken his chance in these last two games and has performed quite well.
“He’ll be hoping now that he can get a regular run in Guardiola’s side.”
Everton still want to sign Jack Grealish permanently despite big injury blow
Marmoush arrived at City last January to effectively take Grealish‘s place in Guardiola’s squad, as he was soon shipped out on loan to Everton in the summer following a lack of game time.
The 30-year-old has been a key man under David Moyes this season, but recently suffered a stress fracture in his foot that is set to keep him sidelined for the rest of the campaign.
Despite such a major setback, Football Insider have revealed that Everton still want to sign Grealish on a permanent basis in the summer, as long as they can sort out a cheaper deal than the £50m option-to-buy in his current contract.
His permanent move away could well have an impact on Marmoush’s future, as he is more likely to stay at City if Grealish is not welcomed back into the fold ahead of next season.