Yahoo Sports Marmoush next? Ranking Manchester City’s best Bundesliga signings
Manchester City remain locked in negotiations with Eintracht Frankfurt over a deal to sign Omar Marmoush.
There is optimism from all camps that an agreement can be reached for one of the stars of the Bundesliga campaign. Marmoush has scored 15 goals and created 10 more in a stunning season for Frankfurt.
Pep Guardiola’s side have now firmed up their interest and negotiations continue over a deal that could exceed £60m. The Citizens have bought brilliantly from the Bundesliga in the past and will hope Marmoush is the next success story – if a deal gets over the line.
We’ve decided to rank Manchester City’s best Bundesliga buys.
Marmoush next? Ranking Manchester City’s best Bundesliga signings
5. Edin Dzeko, Wolfsburg, £27m (2011)
Edin Dzeko edges out Leroy Sane to squeeze into our top five with the Bosnian’s big-game moments difficult to ignore. Having fired Wolfsburg to a first Bundesliga title in 2008/09, Dzeko arrived in the Premier League in the 2011 January transfer window.
After a slow start, he found his form. During his first full season, City won the Premier League for the first time. He scored four goals in a 5-1 thrashing of Tottenham and netted twice in the famous 6-1 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Dzeko’s most crucial contribution came on the final weekend. His stoppage-time equaliser set the stage for Sergio Aguero’s unforgettable winner against QPR to seal the title.
It was the Edin Dzeko show at White Hart Lane #onthisday in 2011! 🔥 #mancity pic.twitter.com/5r97zGUnP6
— Manchester City (@ManCity) August 28, 2018
The following season, Dzeko was City’s leading scorer with 15 goals and hit 26 more in all competitions as they won the Premier League for a second time in 2013/14. He departed for Roma after falling out of favour, boasting a record of 72 goals in 189 games for the club. Not always first choice, his record in the Premier League was 50 goals in just 74 starts.
4. Ilkay Gundogan, Borussia Dortmund, £21m (2016)
Pep Guardiola made Ilkay Gundogan his first signing after arriving at the Etihad in 2016. Familiar with the midfielder’s game from the Bundesliga, the ex-Bayern boss swooped to sign Gundogan from Borussia Dortmund.
Across seven seasons with the Citizens, Gundogan was an unmissable presence in the club’s greatest successes. His goals helped propel City to the title in 2020/21 as leading scorer, while a late brace sealed a thrilling final-day comeback against Aston Villa to win another Premier League crown in 2022.
Gundogan was voted club captain that summer and led the Blues to a historic treble-winning season in 2022/23. His double – including the quickest goal in FA Cup final history – secured a 2-1 win over Manchester United in the first-ever Manchester Derby Cup final.
The German departed for Barcelona in 2023 but returned to City on a free transfer a year later.
3. Erling Haaland, Borussia Dortmund, £52m (2022)
Erling Haaland’s inclusion at number three indicates just how successful Manchester City have been with Bundesliga purchases.
City won the highly-competitive race to land Haaland in 2022, after activating the forward’s release clause at Borussia Dortmund. Haaland emphatically answered any questions marks regarding his ability to translate his Bundesliga goal record to English football.
In his debut season, Haaland fired City to a Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League treble, breaking countless records. His 52 goals in all competitions were a record for a Premier League player in a single season, while he smashed the Premier League single-season record with a 36-goal haul.
He’s now scored 111 goals in 126 games for the Citizens and is chasing a third consecutive Golden Boot this season.
2. Vincent Kompany, Hamburg, £6m (2008)
When Vincent Kompany arrived in Manchester as an unproven 22-year-old at pre-takeover City, few could have envisioned what was to come. Just days later, Sheikh Mansour transformed the Blues’ future and Kompany was a driving force in their emergence as a superpower.
The Belgian defender was at the forefront of City’s evolution, earning the captain’s armband and respect across the Premier League. He captained City to a drought-breaking piece of silverware with the 2011 FA Cup, before lifting the Premier League title the following season.
Across 11 seasons at the Etihad, Kompany made 360 appearances and won 12 trophies – including four Premier League titles.
1. Kevin De Bruyne, Wolfsburg, £55m (2015)
There was plenty of noise around Manchester City’s club-record deal for Kevin De Bruyne.
The midfielder had failed to make an impact at Chelsea before finding his feet in the Bundesliga. After City’s capture of De Bruyne, some suggested he was not cut out for English football. Oh, how they were wrong.
De Bruyne has cemented his place among the Premier League’s all-time greats at the Etihad. Only Ryan Giggs has ever provided more assists in the division and none inside the top 10 come close to his assist-per-game ratio.
An integral part of six title-winning teams, De Bruyne has won every available honour with the Citizens and has twice been named PFA Players’ Player of the Year. He’s one of just three players to have won that award in consecutive campaigns, after Thierry Henry and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Arguably the best to have worn the blue shirt.
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