Pep Guardiola named Omar Marmoush and Abdukodir Khusanov in Manchester City's starting line-up for Saturday's big Premier League clash with Chelsea.
The Catalan coach publicly called for reinforcements in January after his injury-ravaged side recorded a win in 13 games leading up to Boxing Day. City's recruitment department has delivered, spending around £123m on three new players.
Former Palmeiras centre-back Vitor Reis only made the bench for his visit Chelsea this weekend, but his defender Khusanov was thrown straight into the starting XI in the absence of the injured Ruben Dias.
When discussing the qualities of the £42million centre-back from Lens this week, Guardiola “Khusanov is already satisfied with the fact that he played in the French league, handling strong, fast and quick players. But he does not speak much English, so communication will be one of the situations we have to deal with.”
Marmoush is practically fluent in the language, largely thanks to the influence of his parents, who both lived in Canada for six years and obtained citizenship for the North American nation.
The proud Egyptian is enjoying the best form of his career. Barely halfway through the season, Marmoush has scored 20 goals and 14 assists in all competitions for Eintracht Frankfurt this season.
No wonder Guardiola was forced to predict: “I think he will adapt quickly.”
Kevin De Bruyne, who failed to make an impact on The city's midweek collapse at Paris Saint-Germain, dropped to the bench as the £59m recruit lined up behind Erling Haaland.
“The young players can help, of course,” noted the City boss ahead of the all-important clash with fourth-placed Chelsea in the race for Champions League qualification. “They're here for that reason. Again, it couldn't have happened without the circumstances that we had.”