Manchester City close in on agreement for Eintracht Frankfurt’s Omar Marmoush | OneFootball

Premier League champions Manchester City are closing in on an agreement for their first signing of the January transfer window, according to reports.

Txiki Begiristain – the Etihad Stadium club’s director of football – is working intensely alongside his colleagues within Manchester City to strengthen Pep Guardiola’s options ahead of the second-half of the campaign.

There is an awareness within the club that City are approaching a period in their history where a refresh and revival of their first-team squad is necessary, having exhausted their existing options in a remarkable period of success under Pep Guardiola.

A number of positions are expected to come under the microscope across the next two transfer windows, with work expected to commence on such a rebuild this month and as many as three major signings anticipated by various sources.

Among the positions that could be addressed immediately is Pep Guardiola’s attacking ranks, after Manchester City finalised an agreement that saw Julian Alvarez leave the Etihad Stadium in a €90 million package deal with Atletico Madrid last summer without a replacement.

And now, a flurry of reports have linked Manchester City with one of the finest attacking profiles currently operating in the European game, with a significant development emerging in the last few hours.

That is according to the information of MailSport’s Simon Jones, who reports that Manchester City are now progressing towards an agreement with Eintracht Frankfurt for highly-rated Egypt international forward, Omar Marmoush.

It is claimed that while both Liverpool and Arsenal have also been following Marmoush’s progress and performances, neither club has followed up and Manchester City are now willing to pay around £50 million for the versatile 25-year-old.

The report explains that Eintracht Frankfurt had denied any formal approach had been made by Manchester City for Marmoush last week, but their own sources now understand that informal talks are continuing and are expected to reach an agreement over the coming days.

For now it remains to be seen whether Manchester City are entirely insistent on Marmoush coming into the club during this month, with a report earlier in the week claiming that a five-year contract had been proposed to the player commencing on June 1st.

Pep Guardiola is unlikely to comment on matters surrounding the Egyptian forward either until the deal is done, with questions potentially put to the Manchester City manager when he faces the media on Friday afternoon.

City remain entirely focussed on their challenges back on the pitch and welcome a new competition to their agenda this season when Salford City visit the Etihad Stadium in the third round of the FA Cup on Saturday afternoon.

Other mammoth contests await the reigning Premier League champions throughout this month, including top-flight away visits to both Brentford and Ipswich Town, as well as a trip to Paris to take on PSG in the UEFA Champions League on matchday seven of the league phase.