Aston Villa target Man City star as Unai Emery eyes 'competitive' transfer window

Tom Weber

• 3 Jan 2026 12:32 CST
• 3 min read

News

Aston Villa are targeting the blockbuster signing of Manchester City forward Omar Marmoush, according to a report.

The Egypt international is currently away at the Africa Cup of Nations, where he seeks to bounce back from what has been a disappointing start to the season.

Marmoush joined Man City for €75 million last January after emerging as one of the most spectacular attackers in the Bundesliga, and he initially featured regularly for his new club.

However, his importance to Pep Guardiola diminished over the summer, and a knee injury suffered on international duty during the September injury break only exacerbated the problem.

Since then, the 26-year-old has not started a single Premier League game. His only goal of the season came in a Carabao Cup win over Championship side Swansea, illustrating his struggles.

Aston Villa explore Marmoush move

According to TEAMtalk, Aston Villa have joined Tottenham in showing a January interest in Marmoush. The in-form Birmingham club are "making a move" to bring him in this month, it is claimed.

Villa are keen to rectify the mistakes of the summer and are in for a big window. Young winger Alysson has already joined in a €12 million deal from Gremio, while discussions are being held to cut Harvey Elliott's disappointing loan from Liverpool short.

It is not clear what kind of move Villa have in mind for Marmoush, but given their financial situation, it is likely that they would initially look to do a loan. Man City, though, don't want to lose the Egyptian.

Nevertheless, the interest shows that Villa are trying to be ambitious in the market. Speaking after his side's 3-1 win over Nottingham Forest on Saturday afternoon, Emery insisted that he wants the club to be "competitive in the transfer window."

"We signed Alysson," he explained. "I try to always be alert in case we can sign someone to help us. Of course, I am so happy at how the players are responding, we'll see how we are going to respond to the transfer window in January.

"But for the players we have, they are the most important. We are always competitive in the transfer window."

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