Will Omar Marmoush Be A Success? - Manchester City’s Last Five January Signings

Omar Marmoush is just the latest player to be snapped up by the machine that is Manchester City, along with Vitor Reis and Abdukodir Khusanov. All three have been new purchases this month and will be looking to make an impact on City’s rather poor season so far. January is usually a month used to bolster the squad or make panic signings due to injuries or poor form, so Marmoush might end up being a bit of a flop at City. Either way, we decided to look at the five most recent January signings made by Pep Guardiola to see whether or not Marmoush’s future looks bright.

Claudio Echeverri - 2024

19-year-old Claudio Echeverri signed for Manchester City in January 2024 for £12.5m despite having made just seven senior appearances for River Plate in his career. The youngster remained on loan at his boyhood club until this month, when he finally joined up with the Manchester City squad. He will feel like a new signing for City, but it is unlikely that he will make it off the bench with the strength that the Champions have on the flanks.

🚨🔵 Claudio Echeverri to Manchester City, here we go! Documents are being exchanged between City and River Plate to seal the agreement.

2006 born Argentinian talent will stay at River Plate until December 2024 then he will travel to Europe.

Six year deal for Echeverri. 🇦🇷 pic.twitter.com/hnh43h9oub

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 31, 2023

In his time on loan at River Plate, despite being an explosive winger, he only managed three goals and six assists in 30 appearances as the club finished fifth in the overall standings. Echeverri will now join up with the Argentina U20s squad for the U20s South American Championship, in which they are the favourites to win. I’m sure there won’t be many Premier League fans tuning in to the tournament, but if you want to see what Echeverri is capable of, this is probably the best way before he makes his Premier League debut.

Maximo Perrone - 2023

Another young Argentinian talent, Maximo Perrone was the only player that Pep Guardiola bought for Manchester City in January 2023 and now 22-years-old, he is yet to make a breakthrough into the City first team. He has made two appearances for the club and only one in the Premier League, against Bournemouth. Naturally a defensive midfielder, Perrone can also play a little further forward. He joined from Velez Sarsfield for just over £8m having played just 33 times for the Argentinian club.

📸📊 T5 League // U23 Midfielders // "Who gains, retains, and advances possession"

🇦🇷 Máximo Perrone: more orchestrator than ball winner, but enjoying a solid loan campaign with Como.

If the long-term Rodri replacement is done in the aggregate, could he be a option?#MCFC pic.twitter.com/jvUS77NBNe

— Spencer Mossman (@fc_mossman) January 19, 2025

Since he joined City he has had two different loan spells in two different leagues. Last season he played 29 times in the league for Las Palmas as he helped them to avoid relegation from La Liga, and this year he has been playing for Como in the Serie A alongside the likes of Pepe Reina, Dele Ali and Sergi Roberto. He is still young, so his City career could soon take off, but so far he hasn’t lived up to the hype.

Julian Alvarez - 2022

Manchester City love shopping in the Argentinian Premier League in January and love buying just one player in that window, as Julian Alvarez was their only acquisition in the 2022 winter transfer window. We all know how successful he was at City, scoring 36 goals in 103 games, many of which were from the bench, behind Erling Haaland in the pecking order. He was a crucial part to City’s treble winning team, but being second choice wasn’t enough for him.

This summer, Alvarez left Manchester City for a club record fee of around £80m, making him their most expensive sale ever as he joined Atletico Madrid. He has already scored 16 goals this season for Atleti, just three fewer than his best season for City. Getting past Haaland into the City first XI is simply impossible as he is one of the best strikers in world football at the moment, but given his form this season, Alvarez may have given Pep Guardiola some selection headaches should he have stayed this season.

Filip Stevanovic - 2021

The first January signing on this list that wasn’t from the Argentinian top flight, Filip Stevanovic joined Manchester City for £6m from Serbian club Partizan and went straight into the academy. Despite being just 18 when they signed him, Stevanovic had already played 72 games off the left wing in his professional career, scoring 13 goals.

Serbian winger Filip Stevanovic will join Manchester City in January, his club Partizan Belgrade have said.https://t.co/5oXf53L2Ke pic.twitter.com/jhR5uERXEF

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) November 1, 2020

Following his move to City, the Serbian youngster went out on loan to three different clubs, and each one was unsuccessful. Both Heerenveen and RKC Waalwijk gave him chances in the Eredivisie, but he only scored three times in those two seasons, and sandwiched in between was a horrendous loan spell at Santa Clara where he only played nine times as the club was relegated to the second tier of Portuguese football. In the summer he moved to Belgian side Lommel in the second division, joining a whole host of former City youngsters such as Diego Rosa and Kluiverth Aguilar as well as a winger called Mo Salah. Seriously, there is a young winger in the Belgian second tier with the same name as one of the greatest Premier League players ever.

Camron Gbadebo - 2020

The last of three less known academy signings in January 2020, Camron Gbadebo’s footballing story is quite a sad one. He was poached by Manchester City for their academy from Leicester, who only received a small compensation for losing him. He then went on to play for Fylde on loan before joining Colchester’s youth team permanently. However injuries ruined his chances at a professional level and he joined Wingate and Finchley FC in the seventh tier of English football.

Since then he has played for Marske United and Workington AFC before moving up to the sixth tier with Eastbourne Borough. Unfortunately in December 2023, he ruptured his ACL just minutes into his debut and was released by the club as they could not afford to pay him while he was out injured. A year on from his injury, he returned to full fitness and resigned with Eastbourne. He captained the side for the first time earlier this month and it looks as if they will be fighting for promotion this season.

Omar Marmoush?

Omar Marmoush is a very different signing to the ones that are usually made by City in the January transfer window, but I suppose they are rarely doing this poorly at this stage of the season, so it makes sense as to why they are splashing out. From their recent January signings, it is difficult to predict where Marmoush will be in five or so years, as I don’t think he’ll be playing in the English sixth tier for a side like Tonbridge Angels. Perhaps the Julian Alvarez transfer could give us an idea that he could be at another European giant having left Erling Haaland’s shadow, but it is still too early to tell what impact the Egyptian might have in the Premier League.