Paris Saint-Germain’s Randal Kolo Muani is set to play a starring role during this January’s transfer window with the France international wanted by a number of clubs including English Premier League pair Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United who are reportedly exploring loan deals. The 26-year-old is into his second full season with the French champions but has fallen out of favor under head coach Luis Enrique which has opened the door to a Parc des Princes exit as early as this month despite arriving for a fee close to $90 million just over 18 months ago.
Spurs and the Red Devils are not the only names being linked with Kolo Muani this winter with Juventus and Aston Villa also mooted as possible destinations as part of questions relating to Dusan Vlahovic and Jhon Duran’s futures while United could yet try to bring Marcus Rashford into the mix. Chelsea’s Christopher Nkunku appears to be the only credible lead in terms of PSG’s hoped replacement for their unwanted Frenchman in attack this January and the former Parisien academy graduate has been the subject of numerous rumors himself.
However, at this early point of the window, little appears certain aside from the fact that we are going to be hearing a lot about Kolo Muani in the coming weeks with no guarantee that he will play much — if at all — for the Ligue 1 leaders with the UEFA Champions League returning soon. How, then, has his stock remained relatively high despite what has been a largely unsuccessful spell with the capital club so far?
The answer to that lies mainly in Kolo Muani’s exceptional breakout form when playing for Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga for a single season which put him on the radar of a number of top European clubs which they appear to have not forgotten. The Bondy-born talent scored 17 goals and provided 11 assists across all competitions for the Bundesliga outfit on the back of a 12-goal and four-assist showing in his final campaign with Nantes before leaving France initially in 2022.
Hugo Ekitike is enjoying a similar breakout now with the Germans so it is somewhat fitting that Kolo Muani would have traded his stellar previous form with Die Adler for his current predicament in Paris given that Ekitike also found himself marginalized. With seven goals and five assists across all competitions in his first term at Parc des Princes, it is not exactly like PSG’s No. 23 has been a total flop with two more goals and an assist when he has been given a chance by Luis Enrique so far this year.
The paradox with Kolo Muani at the moment is that he has currently played more meaningful minutes and scored more times with Les Bleus than he has with PSG with three goals and an assist in the UEFA Nations League as well as another goal for the French at UEFA Euro 2024 last summer. Not at all in the plans of his Spanish boss in Paris, he has been the starting striker for Didier Deschamps while captain Kylian Mbappe has been absent from international duty since joining Real Madrid.
Luis Enrique not seeing him as an integral part of his tactical vision in Paris hardly illustrates that Kolo Muani has become a bad player overnight and the 26-year-old is still fairly young despite having been overpriced when PSG bought him. Capable of playing out wide as well as alongside a second central attacking figure, his pace and ability to run with the ball makes him an intriguing profile for clubs which explains why his stock remains high.
The question now is whether or not one of Kolo Muani’s January suitors can find an acceptable agreement with Paris to bring him in this month which gives him the remainder of this season to rediscover his best form in a league like the EPL which is suited to his strengths. Should that happen, the Frenchman should be fairly easy to rehabilitate given that actually playing regularly again cannot be as damaging as the first few months of this term which could do real damage if allowed to continue until this summer.
