Manchester City expert Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany believes that Omar Marmoush is "more than capable" of stepping up for Pep Guardiola's Champions League-chasing side in the absence of injured striker Erling Haaland.
The £63m January signing from Eintracht Frankfurt scored his sixth goal for the Citizens in their 2-1 comeback victory over Bournemouth in the FA Cup at the end of March, just three minutes after replacing Haaland who was forced off with an ankle injury.
Guardiola has been informed by club doctors that Haaland will be out for between five to seven weeks and is now facing a race against time to recover before the domestic campaign comes to a close.
Haaland has already missed Man City's last two Premier League games - a 2-0 home win over Leicester City and a drab 0-0 draw with rivals Manchester United last weekend - and he is expected to miss a further five matches including the FA Cup semi-final clash with Nottingham Forest at Wembley on April 27.
Filling the boots of City's top scorer Haaland, who has netted 30 goals in 40 appearances this season, is no mean feat for any player, but McInerney has seen enough from new recruit Marmoush to suggest that the Egyptian can become a 'hero' for the Citizens in the Norwegian's absence.
Haaland injury a "massive blow" for Man City
"A giant 6ft 5in blow. He's massive and it's a massive blow," McInerney told Sports Mole when discussing Haaland's injury setback. "He's the best natural finisher maybe in world football. Definitely in the Premier League. He's phenomenal.
"I don't think he would have changed the derby for what it's worth. I think City were so limp and lifeless, I don't think he really would have had much joy anyway. He might have changed [the game] with his presence and his natural leadership and the fact that he is a blue. He always loves the games against United.
"But it's a huge blow. I still feel Marmoush has the goals if City turn up. I don't doubt his instinct. I think Marmoush was let down a little bit in the derby. He was willing, he was able, his movement was decent, but there was nothing coming his way at all.
"I think our chances of getting Champions League football are obviously higher if Haaland is there, and I think the margin for error is a lot smaller now as well."
With seven Premier League fixtures remaining, Man City sit fifth in the table, at the time of writing, but they could drop down to sixth if Newcastle United with at least one of their two games in hand.
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Man City 'in safe hands' with "supremely confident" Marmoush up top
McInerney added: "I'm a firm believer that sometimes heroes can step up when you need them, and this could be Marmoush's chance to stake a bit of a claim ahead of next season...score a few goals and get [City] Champions League football, and he's more than capable. Most of the teams we're challenging with would take him as well, so we should be in safe enough hands.
"I think Marmoush is very obviously a good finisher. He's supremely confident in front of goal. His movement is nice. He's not obviously as effective as Haaland, [but] I like his tendency to link up as well. He likes to drop deep a little bit. He works really hard. His touch is good.
"I think he's shown a lot of promise. Obviously, he's still got a long way to go to be deemed a success at Manchester City. But to me, the hunger's there and I think the work rate's there."
Marmoush has proven himself to be a prolific goalscorer this season, contributing to 39 goals (26 goals, 13 assists) in 40 games across all competitions across spells with both Frankfurt and Man City.
The 26-year-old heads into Saturday's Premier League home clash against Crystal Palace having already scored five goals in as many top-flight games at the Etihad Stadium, including a superb hat-trick in the 4-0 victory over Newcastle United in February.
Press play on the video at the top of this article to hear the full discussion.
Oliver Thomas
