Things have become pretty quiet around Randal Kolo Muani in the last few weeks. Since his forced departure from Frankfurt in August 2023, he has rarely drawn positive attention to himself, actually only in a few appearances with Juventus Turin in the second half of last season and now and then in the jersey of the French national team.
Last summer, after his successful six-month loan spell at Juventus (8 goals in 16 league games), he returned to Paris Saint-Germain without the option to buy. After a few days, RKM, as Muani is called in France, had to cope with a bitter setback: Paris coach Luis Enrique told him in a one-on-one conversation that Muani played no role in his plans and that he should look for a new club. Shortly afterwards he was transferred to the youth department and ignored by the professional team.
“Randal is going through a difficult time”
The PSG bosses received offers from Chelsea and Newcastle for Muani. But a few hours before the transfer market closed, another English club loaned him out: Tottenham Hotspur. Again, no purchase option. Since then, however, Muani has hardly been featured in London.
“Randal is going through a difficult time,” France’s former star striker Jean-Pierre Papin summarized to the FAZ. “He was signed by the bosses at PSG a few days before Luis Enrique signed there. From a purely playful perspective, his style of play doesn’t fit the Spaniard’s philosophy at all. That’s why it was clear from the start that it wouldn’t suit him in Paris.”
Muani signed in Paris because the name Julian Nagelsmann was circulating on the Seine at the time and the current national coach is said to have even spoken to the striker on the phone. Nagelsmann is said to have explained to the former Eintracht attacker the important role in which the coach saw him. In the end, PSG President Nasser Al-Khelaifi and Nagelsmann could not come to an agreement. Luis Enrique came. For Kolo Muani, this news meant the end before his time in the capital even began.
Kolo Muani’s contract at PSG runs until July 2028. At Spurs he has strong competition at the top with the Englishman Dominic Solanke, his compatriot Mathys Tel and Richarlison. Despite Brazilian international striker Richarlison’s thigh injury, which will be out for at least another month, the Frenchman is currently not playing a significant role for coach Thomas Frank.
Kolo Muani is in crisis before returning to Frankfurt
However, on the journey to Frankfurt, Kolo Muani experienced a shock when he was involved in a car accident. There was also a tire blowout in England on the way to the airport. Kolo Muani and his teammate Wilson Odobert, who was also affected, are “well,” said team manager Thomas Frank on Tuesday. Everyone involved was uninjured, he reported. “I fully expect both will be available tomorrow.”
Kolo Muani has to worry about France’s place at the World Cup
Due to Kolo Muani’s poor performance in recent months and despite the great trust that national coach Didier Deschamps has repeatedly placed in him – he was even appointed in November, although he was hardly able to convince at Tottenham – he has to fear more than ever for his World Cup ticket.
After all, the competition in the Équipe tricolore for his position with Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé and the former Mainz player Jean-Philippe Mateta is greater than ever. The strong development of his Frankfurt successor Hugo Ekitiké could also prove fatal for him in view of the big showdown next summer.
The fact that Kolo Muani likes to score against his former teams is shown by his two goals on November 26th with Spurs in the 3-5 defeat at the Parc des Princes in Paris. These were his only goals in all competitions so far and his only exceptional performance in Tottenham uniform. “Basically it’s not enough for an attacker of his caliber,” added Papin, who played for FC Bayern Munich from 1994 to 1996.
“Randal is in a dead end from which he can also see an opportunity and could come back stronger. Maybe this game in Frankfurt of all places will come at the right time,” said Papin. “If he were to be there from the start – which wouldn’t necessarily surprise me – then he would go into the game particularly motivated and give everything to prove that he remains an excellent striker. After all, Tottenham is still aiming for a direct place in the round of 16.”
It cannot be ruled out that Frank wanted to rest his striker completely at the weekend because he knows that the striker, who was born in the Paris suburb of Bondy, is eager for this appointment at the Waldstadion. It will be a special reunion. Kolo Muani knows very well that his former club has had one of the weakest defenses for several weeks – in both the Bundesliga and the Champions League.
Maybe he wouldn’t mind making his contribution to the next Frankfurt defensive chaos.
