BERLIN — A first-half goal from Omar Marmoush took Eintracht Frankfurt to a 1-0 Bundesliga win at St Pauli amid growing speculation that the Egyptian star is on the brink of a move to Manchester City.
The Egypt forward grabbed his 14th in 16 Bundesliga games this season in the 32nd minute, taking him level with Harry Kane at the top of the scoring charts. The 25-year-old also has eight league assists.
Frankfurt sporting director Markus Krosche acknowledged before the match that a club “has expressed interest” in the player, though he didn´t want to confirm it was Man City. The English champion has been struggling of late under Pep Guardiola.
Sky reported that Frankfurt was demanding an 80 million euros ($82 million) fee for Marmoush, but Krösche also declined to confirm that.
“It doesn´t make any sense to talk about prices,” Krösche said according to AP. “Basically, we´ve said our goal is to keep this team together. Of course, we also said if there are exceptional circumstances, we´d have to think about giving away top performers. We´re not there yet.”
It would be the second big transfer coup for Frankfurt in 1 ½ seasons after selling Randal Kolo Muani in 2023 to Paris Saint-Germain for 95 million euros (then $103 million).
Marmoush, who joined Frankfurt from Bundesliga rival Wolfsburg on a free transfer in 2023, has a contract with the club until summer 2027. Marmoush has 19 goals in 25 games across all competitions for Frankfurt this season.
“We did plenty to keep a clean sheet today,” said Frankfurt captain Kevin Trapp.
“There’s definitely a few things we can improve on,” the goalkeeper added according to AFP.
Elsewhere, Freiburg leapfrogged Borussia Dortmund into sixth with a 3-2 home win over Holstein Kiel highlighted by a stunning free-kick from captain Christian Guenter.
Kiel’s Nicolai Remberg unwittingly diverted an Eren Dinkci cross into his own net on 23 minutes, before Guenter sent an excellent dipping shot into the top corner from wide on the right-hand side.
Freiburg’s Vincenzo Grifo added a third although Kiel’s Phil Harres made the home side sweat with two goals in the final five minutes.
Union Berlin’s miserable week went from bad to worse, going down 2-0 with 10 men at Heidenheim just days after a German Football Association (DFB) sports court punished them for unruly behaviour by their fans.
The DFB court decided Union’s 1-1 home draw with Bochum in December should be considered a 2-0 win for the away side after a home fan threw a lighter at the head of the visiting goalkeeper.
Union president Dirk Zingler slammed the decision pre-match as an “unfair scandal”, saying the court was trying to make a “political example” of the club who has appealed the decision.
Bayern Munich loanee Frans Kraetzig gave the hosts the lead on the counter after 17 minutes in his first Heidenheim game before Union’s Tom Rothe was red carded for a last-man foul.
Adrian Beck sealed the result with seven minutes remaining, giving his side a first win since September.
Mainz climbed past RB Leipzig into fourth with a 2-0 home with over lowly Bochum, with Germany forward Jonathan Burkardt scoring in each half.
A 29th-minute Mohamed Amoura goal took Wolfsburg to a 1-0 win at Hoffenheim.
Patrik Schick scored a first-half brace as Bayer Leverkusen won 3-2 at a flu-hit Borussia Dortmund, closing the gap to Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich to one point.
Already struck by an injury crisis, illness ripped through Dortmund’s defence, with centre-backs Emre Can and Nico Schlotterbeck, along with left-back Ramy Bensebaini, ruled out just hours before kick-off as the Bundesliga restarted from the winter break.
The defending champions took advantage of Dortmund’s inexperienced defence early, scoring through Nathan Tella after just 25 seconds before Patrik Schick added another on the eight-minute mark.
English winger Jamie Gittens pulled one back but Schick restored Leverkusen’s two-goal lead shortly afterwards.
A late Serhou Guirassy penalty gave Dortmund hope but Leverkusen held on for their ninth straight win in all competitions, turning up the heat on Bayern.
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