Man City might need new Omar Marmoush plan after £34million signing

The good news for Manchester City is that if anything happens to Erling Haaland, they have a £59million back-up available in Omar Marmoush. The challenge will be keeping the Egyptian happy if Haaland goes through a full season without any fitness issues.

That is always the difficulty for clubs when they have a player who is so far ahead of the competition. Tottenham consistently had it with Harry Kane, although clearly there is a bigger attraction to being a squad player at the Etihad than there is at Spurs.

City have also faced it with Rodri. It can be hard to find a player who is good enough to step in but also happy to have spells where action is limited if they aren't required. When the big games come around next season, Haaland will be the starting striker, no questions asked.

Marmoush got plenty of playing time after his move from Eintracht Frankfurt in January. He played 1,700 minutes and scored eight goals, with three assists, in 25 appearances.

On eight occasions, he started with Haaland, and 12 times, he started as the long striker. A little like Julian Alvarez, he is a versatile forward who can not only fill in for the Norwegian but also play just behind him or even out wide.

City's issue is evident with what happened to Alvarez. He was an outstanding Haaland back-up and got a run in the team as Kevin De Bruyne's replacement. His form led to interest from Atletico Madrid and although the £82million or so City banked from his transfer looked an excellent deal, the Argentine has shone in Madrid and is now being linked with Barcelona. City also spent £59million of that fee on signing Marmoush.

The 26-year-old has had a good start to life at City and rotated with Haaland at the Club World Cup, but there's no doubt