Omar Marmoush almost marked his Manchester City debut with a goal, and Erling Haaland expects his new team-mate to be a hit.
Erling Haaland is looking forward to linking up with the "special" Omar Marmoush after Manchester City's new signing impressed on his debut.
Marmoush played 74 minutes of City's 3-1 win over Chelsea on Saturday, marking his first appearance since joining from Eintracht Frankfurt earlier this week.
The Egypt international almost capped his debut with a first-half goal, only for the offside flag to deny him, before also going close in the second period at the Etihad Stadium.
Haaland, who scored one and set up another for Phil Foden, believes Marmoush has already shown the quality that made City target him.
"I think especially in the first half you can see he has something special," Haaland told Sky Sports. "There’s a reason City brought him, because he has something special.
"He got straight into the team and it’s about getting to know him as soon as possible because there are so many important games coming.
“It’s about giving him confidence and he’s going to be a fantastic player for us."
Haaland knows all too well about moving from the Bundesliga. Like Marmoush, the Norway talisman impressed in the competition with Borussia Dortmund before joining City.
Marmoush will add a different dimension to Guardiola's attack, too, with the former Eintracht attacker making regular narrow runs inside to support Haaland.
His work rate was impressive as well, Marmoush winning five duels against Chelsea, the most of any City player bar Mateo Kovacic (six).
"It’s always nice [to have new faces]. I’ve been a new player before trying to come in with a different energy and different personality," Haaland added.
"It’s also nice to get to know new people and of course play with good players, that’s what you want."
Marmoush managed 15 goals and laid on 10 assists in just 17 Bundesliga appearances for Eintracht in 2024-25, and Haaland hopes his team-mate can now have the same impact on the blue side of Manchester.
"He had an amazing first half of the season for Eintracht Frankfurt and hopefully, he’s going to have the same season with us now for the second half of the season," Haaland concluded.