Atletico Madrid circling as City weigh up forward's future

Omar Marmoush's future at Manchester City has become the first real test of Enzo Maresca's willingness to make difficult calls before he has properly coached his squad.

According to The Hard Tackle, relaying Fichajes, Atletico Madrid have identified the Egyptian as a leading attacking target, with Maresca reportedly open to sanctioning a sale. The report places his valuation at around €60 million.

Marmoush is still tied to City until 2029, having arrived from Eintracht Frankfurt in January 2025. The club's own announcement at the time framed him as a coveted attacker capable of operating across the front line, with a four-and-a-half-year contract running to the summer of 2029.

That versatility was the attraction. It is also what makes his position complicated now.

Under Maresca, the attacking picture has already shifted. Erling Haaland remains the reference point. Rayan Cherki has joined the mix. Phil Foden, Jeremy Doku and Savinho all require minutes in the half-spaces or wide lanes. If Antoine Semenyo stays involved as a vertical option, the map tightens further.

Role clarity or stored tension?

City have reached a stage where every attacking place carries strategic purpose. Keeping an expensive, prime-age forward in a role he does not fully own is not depth. It is stored tension.

City Xtra reported in May that Marmoush's future was expected to be discussed after Maresca's arrival, with the forward seeking a more prominent role after a difficult second season for minutes. That made this summer a conversation. Atletico's interest could turn it into a decision.

Maresca's appointment was sold by City as continuity with edge. The club confirmed on June 29 that he had signed until 2029, with Maresca speaking about a well-run, planned and purposeful environment. A planned environment does not keep every talented player simply because selling feels premature.

Atletico's interest makes tactical sense. Marmoush is not a fixed penalty-box striker. He can run from outside to in, press on the front foot, and attack broken defensive lines. Diego Simeone has often valued forwards who can do more than wait for service.

For City, the same flexibility can be read two ways. It either makes him too valuable to lose, or it shows there is no single non-negotiable role that belongs to him.

That distinction is central to Maresca's judgement. His players need early certainty. His squad needs defined jobs. His first tactical message cannot be diluted by a front line full of maybes.

The Atletico door gives City a market for a player they do not have to sell but may rationally choose to move.

A cold calculation

Every Marmoush argument eventually returns to Haaland. The Norwegian's presence changes the ceiling and the frustration for every central attacker at City. Marmoush can play with Haaland. The more exact question is whether he can play often enough with Haaland to justify rejecting a strong fee.

If City keep him, Maresca needs a defined path: minutes as Haaland's deputy, starts from the left in specific game states, and a clear role when City need more direct running. If City sell, the logic must be equally clean: bank value, reduce positional congestion and leave room for a profile Maresca wants more.

The mistake would be drifting. Marmoush is too good to become a vague option and too valuable to let the summer slide into August uncertainty.

This is not a case for a fire sale. If Atletico cannot reach the number, City can keep the player and still have a credible squad piece. But Maresca's first summer is not about collecting credible pieces. It is about building a team with clean priorities after the most important managerial change of the modern City era.

The best clubs sell before uncertainty becomes decay. Marmoush's Atletico link gives City that exact room. Maresca does not need to force the exit. He does need to show he can judge it coldly.