As a result, rumours of Liverpool’s interest in Eintracht Frankfurt’s Omar Marmoush spread like wildfire, including an Anfield Watch exclusive on the matter.
In the past few days, however, serious chatter of Liverpool readying an approach for Brighton’s Joao Pedro has emerged, including in another Anfield Watch exclusive.
But which player would suit Liverpool better?
How do they match up against each other?
Joao Pedro is an interesting proposition as a striker. He’s a tall, ungainly runner who is excellent at finding pockets of space. As explained in this article, he has a tendency to drift to the left and pull back inwards when he receives the ball.
He operates quite naturally as a false nine. Pedro links play wonderfully, allowing other attacking players to exploit the space he vacates and then either provide them or capitalise significantly on second chances.
Omar Marmoush, in comparison, represents a more ‘traditional’ striker. He is a pacy, timely runner who is willing to get in behind defensive lines both centrally and in wider spaces.
His close control allows him to be an excellent runner with and receiver of the ball, whilst his clinical finishing is rivalled only by compatriot Mo Salah this season. Crucially, he is also an incisive passer of the football.
These profiles are represented in their underlying statistics. Pedro has 4 progressive passes per-90 to Marmoush’s 2.73, whilst the Egyptian holds 7.44 progressive receptions to Pedro’s 5.38.
Marmoush’s attacking dynamism is also represented by his 5.95 shot creating actions per-90 this season to Pedro’s 2.77. He is, however, overperforming his expected goals by six so far this season, indicating that he has found a particularly devastating edge that may regress.
He lacks in Pedro’s defensive ability, meanwhile. The Brazilian’s 1.69 tackles and interceptions per-90 to Marmoush’s 0.83 show a particular adeptness in the press and defensive phase - something Arne Slot has demanded from his central strikers since arriving on Merseyside.
Who is better value for money?
The cost of the two is still yet to be fully established, but we know it won’t be cheap.
Originally, Marmoush’s market value was anticipated to be around €40m, yet Frankfurt’s sporting director Markus Krosche confirmed this “wouldn’t be enough”.
Whilst Bundesliga fees can often be lower than the Premier League’s outrageous demands, it wouldn’t be surprising if Liverpool had to stump up anything north of £75m for the Egyptian.
Pedro, meanwhile, only signed for Brighton in the summer of 2023 for £30m. The Seagulls are known for making huge profit from their players, notably Cheslea acquiring both Moises Caicedo and Marc Cucurella for a combined £150m.
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With his contract running until 2028, it would be fair to assume that the bare minimum would be £50m, with Liverpool likely having to make that deal much sweeter.
Who should Liverpool sign?
As a result, both players represent interesting propositions. They would both be very welcome members of Liverpool’s starting XI, bringing different abilities that the Reds don’t currently have.
Pedro would allow Salah to shine even more than he is already doing, whilst Marmoush could be the start of a new dawn even if Salah signs a 2-3 year deal, eventually overtaking his hero as the side’s talisman.
Because of this, Marmoush may just be the better option.
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