Aston Villa target Marmoush as Man City ready to strike €10m deal

Robin Bairner

4 Jan 2026 20:47 GMT
4 min read

Omar Marmoush, Aston Villa, 2025/26 — © IMAGO

Aston Villa are targeting Manchester City attacker Omar Marmoush as a potential January recruit.

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Unai Emery’s side are likely to allow Liverpool loanee Harvey Elliott to leave this month after the manager admitted that the 22-year-old does not have a future at the club.

Villa want to sever the loan agreement, which states that if Elliott plays 10 times for them, they will have to sign him permanently on a £35m deal.

Current ETV

Omar Marmoush

F (C)

Man City

Omar Marmoush

F (C)

Man City

ETV Range

€69.9M - €85.4M

“This is not something good for him and good for us, but this is football and sometimes we must take some decisions which are not good for everyone,” Emery admitted.

The Birmingham club is eager to enhance its top-four push by sending Elliott back to Liverpool and instead signing Marmoush from Man City.

© IMAGO - Omar Marmoush in action for Egypt

Aston Villa want Marcus Rashford repeat with Marmoush

Transfer insider Dean Jones told TeamTalk: “There are whispers emerging out of Egypt that Aston Villa are making a move for Marmoush.

“The idea is fascinating, and as a club that have tried to bring Rashford and Sancho and Elliott back to life in the Premier League, it is reasonable to imagine that they fancy Marmoush to be next.

“His game time at Man City hasn’t been what he would have hoped, and we have reported that Villa are on the lookout for another player for the front line to give them a better chance of sustaining the form they have shown recently.”

Financially, a deal will be complicated for the Birmingham side. Marmoush joined City last January from Eintracht Frankfurt for €75m, and Pep Guardiola’s side will be eager to recoup as much of that fee as possible for a player with an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €77m.

© IMAGO - Omar Marmoush, Aston Villa Club Fit

City find Marmoush replacement

Man City are poised to sign Antoine Semenyo from Bournemouth, but they could also add another winger to their ranks, which could change the equation for the future of the 26-year-old Egypt star.

They could swoop to sign 18-year-old left winger Mathys Detourbet from City Football Group club Troyes this January, L’Equipe reports.

While there are other clubs tracking the youngster, including Roma, Monaco and several Bundesliga clubs, City have Detourbet’s future in their grasp as they effectively own him. A deal worth around €10 million could be struck.

The arrival of Detourbet could, therefore, clear the path for Marmoush to leave for Aston Villa just 12 months after he moved to Pep Guardiola’s side.