Man City made a blunder by not signing £69m Liverpool star who Rayan Cherki knows very well

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In the past few seasons, Manchester City’s transfer business has been far from flawless.

Since Pep Guardiola’s side won the treble in 2023, it could be argued that Josko Gvardiol has been their only addition who can be considered an unequivocal success story.

With Ilkay Gundogan leaving Manchester City a year after re-signing for them and the likes of Matheus Nunes, Mateo Kovacic, Jeremy Doku and Savinho yet to cement their statuses as top-class signings, the proof is in the pudding.

As for City’s business during the winter transfer which included the arrivals of Omar Marmoush, Nico Gonzalez, Vitor Reis and Abdukodir Khusanov, it may be too early to determine whether any of the players are hits or flops.

Pep Guardiola lauded Marmoush’s instant impact and considering how well he performed last season, it’s fair to claim that he has looked like the best out of all the aforementioned names at City.

Man City should have signed Hugo Ekitike instead of Omar Marmoush

However, as well as Marmoush has fared since joining Manchester City, his former Eintracht Frankfurt teammate in Hugo Ekitike would have been a superior signing for Pep Guardiola’s side for a number of reasons.

Firstly, Ekitike is a far more well-rounded player than the Egyptian, as he is far more technically sound, terrific at linking up play and far more at ease in possession in deeper areas of the pitch.

Furthermore, the Frenchman would also have helped Manchester City rest Erling Haaland, considering the fact that unlike Marmoush, he is a natural number nine. It was telling that when Haaland was injured last season, Pep Guardiola often fielded him in a front two alongside James McAtee as the Cairo-born forward is a second striker by trade.

Ekitike, who Liverpool signed for an initial £69 million (Sky Sports) fee has already shown his class for the Reds, scoring three goals in his four outings for Arne Slot’s side.

Interestingly, Liverpool had the chance to sign Marmoush and while he has been a success at Manchester City so far, his all-round game is quite limited in comparison to Ekitike as his effectiveness is overly reliant on being an outlet and scoring goals.

Marmoush, who Manchester City signed for £59 million cost just £10 million less than Ekitike, who is more complete, versatile and even stronger than his former teammate — helped by his lanky frame while the former often gets shrugged off the ball too easily.

Omar Marmoush vs Hugo Ekitike stats last season

Considering Ekitike signed for Liverpool despite their longstanding chase for Alexander Isak indicates that he would have been on board to compete for a starting berth at City with Haaland or even play alongside him.

Last season, both Rayan Cherki’s French teammate Ekitike and Marmoush were on fire at Eintracht Frankfurt.

Based on the previous campaign, the latter certainly outdid the Reds marksman, having registered 34 goal contributions despite signing for City mid-way through the season.

However, stats only tell a part of a story in football and Ekitike would have been a smarter signing for Manchester City as he certainly looks like a player with a higher ceiling than Marmoush.