A whopping 19 Manchester City players are in the USA, Mexico and Canada ahead of this summer’s World Cup
Ask any elite football club and they will tell you tournaments like the World Cup bring very little enjoyment. If you are not worried the player you have your eye on is gaining new attention and, in turn, pushing up their club’s asking price, you have everything crossed that your existing players do not pick up serious injuries or unwanted transfer interest.
Manchester City are no different, especially as they prepare to watch a whopping 19 players represent their countries in the USA, Mexico and Canada over the next month. City will be represented more than any other single club at the tournament, multiplying the risk of potential issues.
But that does not necessarily mean the World Cup cannot work in their favour too, particularly where it concerns players on the peripheries of their squad. City could benefit massively if Tijjani Reijnders and Omar Marmoush were to have good tournaments.
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This season, the duo have struggled to find a spot in this team. Reijnders flirted with regular minutes in the first half of the season but, since February, he has been relegated to the sub’s bench, leading to speculation surrounding his future just one year after he arrived in Manchester.
As for Marmoush, he has performed excellently against one opponent – Newcastle – since arriving at City. However, like Julian Alvarez before him, he has struggled with the reality of playing second fiddle to Erling Haaland. Over the next few weeks, both he and Reijnders will play pivotal roles for their nations.
Should both men do well, the benefit for City is two-fold. The Blues spent £46.3m on Reijnders and £59.1m on Marmoush. They could conceivably make a profit on the combined £105.4m they spent on the pair if, with good performances, they put themselves in the shop window.
Alternatively, a good World Cup for the duo could also prove beneficial for City moving forward. With Bernardo Silva now gone, there is a whole in the midfield that Reijnders could be asked to at least partially fill.
Of course, Elliot Anderson remains City’s top priority but when you are fighting across four competitions, everyone will be required. As for Marmoush, it is not feasible for Haaland to play every minute of every game.
It was unfortunate for the Egypt international that when Haaland needed a rest, Marmoush was at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). Had he not been at the tournament, the 27-year-old could have benefitted and who knows what heights he would have reached then.
But if City feel Reijnders and Marmoush’s race has been run at the Etihad Stadium, and the incoming head coach Enzo Maresca will not find a spot for them in the team, the World Cup can hand them a massive boost without the need to do anything. Reijnders and Marmoush are entering the biggest scouting market for clubs this summer.
This is their opportunity to sell themselves and, if City choose to do so, they could bank some serious money.