Aside from Joan Laporta’s usual suspects Erling Haaland and Rafael Leao, Julian Alvarez has become one of the chief superstars linked to Barcelona as a possible summer 2026 attacking signing, but if his poach from La Liga rivals Atletico Madrid becomes too difficult, current Manchester City star forward Omar Marmoush is the main alternative, according to a report from Diario Sport.
Alvarez has been a sensation in European football since moving from River Plate to Manchester City back in the summer 2022 transfer window. His clinical finishing and positional versatility made him an immediate hit, but the young striker wanted to leave Man City pretty quickly after achieving treble success, wanting to step out of the shadow of elite No. 9 Haaland.
Well, be careful what you wish for. It is a common story for a top player to want out of a superstar’s shadow. Barcelona fans are familiar with a much more prominent example of Neymar going to Paris to exit Lionel Messi’s aura.
It is also a common story, then, for a star player to want out of an underachieving team, and that has become the case with Alvarez and Atleti, who are nowhere near title contention, clearly behind Real Madrid and Barca again in Spanish football.
But Barcelona are having expected troubles convincing Atleti to sell at a reasonable rate. If things become too onerous, Marmoush is a highly talented, right-footed left winger who can play at striker and was a terror for Eintracht Frankfurt before successfully transitioning to the Premier League.
The thing is, Marmoush is finding minutes hard to come by with all the depth at Manchester City, and he can’t play striker, like Alvarez couldn’t, because Haaland is undroppable at the 9.
Marmoush could be the Robert Lewandowski replacement Barcelona are looking for, offering more versatility and explosiveness than current faux forward Ferran Torres up top. And since Barca are a lot bigger than, say, Tottenham Hotspur, the Egyptian star will be willing to push his way out for the Blaugrana.
Joe Soriano is the editor of The Trivela Effect and a FanSided Hall of Famer who has covered world football since 2010. He’s led top digital communities like The Real Champs (Real Madrid) and has run sites covering Tottenham, Liverpool, Juventus, and Schalke. He also helped manage NFL Spin Zone and Daily DDT, covering the NFL and pro wrestling.