Omar Marmoush
Age: 22
Club: VfB Stuttgart (on loan from Wolfsburg)
Position: Forward
Country: Egypt U23s (four caps)
Key stats
Marmoush walked like an Egyptian from Wolfsburg to Stuttgart on summer 2021 deadline day, with 12 first-team appearances under his belt. He got his first taste of the Bundesliga in May 2020, as reward for his nine goals in 15 outings for the reserve team in the 2019/20 Regionalliga Nord (fourth on the German football pyramid).
Marmoush also has the experience of 21 Bundesliga 2 appearances. The 6'0 Egypt U23 international spent the 2020/21 season on loan at St. Pauli, making 19 starts. He wrote his name in hero-glyphics with goal-and-assist showings against Nuremberg and Eintracht Braunschweig, whilst scoring in successive matches twice and seven times all told.
In contrast, Marmoush needed just 88 minutes to open his Stuttgart account. It was one of two shots he landed on target from six debut attempts. The ex-Wadi Degla right-footer left more than a few Eintracht Frankfurt players needing a Cairo-practor to boot, with a robust defensive effort totalling 23 challenges won. With Crytopcurrency strictly off the table, he's scheduled to return to Mummy club Wolfsburg at the end of 2021/22.
Plays a bit like: Jhon Cordoba
Industrious, not prolific but capable of scoring in bursts, and with the footballing IQ to do a job through the middle or out wide, Marmoush is a similar kind of forward to former Mainz, Cologne and Hertha Berlin frontman Jhon Cordoba.
Did you know?
Marmoush is still awaiting his first senior international cap, but is already in regular contact with the poster boy of Egyptian football, Liverpool forward Salah.
"We're in touch. The contact between the Egyptian players in Europe is very good," he told the St. Pauli website when quizzed on the two-time African Player of the Year. "We try to support each other because we know it isn't easy to make the transition to Europe."
That being said, as a Canadian citizen - his parents worked in Canada for six years and have Canadian passports - Marmoush could yet line up in the same national team as Bayern Munich left-back Davies instead.
What they're saying
"Over the past year, Omar has come on in leaps and bounds with good performances in the U23s, and that has seen him dip his toes into the Bundesliga and with the senior squad. Now he needs to gradually get used to playing at Bundesliga level, so that he can take it to the next step." - Wolfsburg sporting director Marcel Schäfer
"Omar is a fantastic fit for us. His qualites and versatility make him a great addition to our squad." - Stuttgart spoting director Sven Mislintat