Although Tottenham, Manchester United, and other big clubs were very much involved in the Randal Kolo Muani transfer sweepstakes, the French striker ultimately preferred to join Juventus above the others.
Juventus are candidates to win the Serie A title again this year, and while they are currently outside the top four, they remain undefeated after drawing second-placed Atalanta 1-1 on Tuesday night.
Kolo Muani was likely attracted to Juventus because of the fact that they are currently in the Champions League, are in a position to reach the Champions League again next season, have a rich history, play in a league that is friendly to attackers, and have a talented striker he can work with in Dusan Vlahovic.
Right now, Kolo Muani’s deal is only a loan move for six months, but the belief is that if Kolo Muani likes Juve enough and they like him back, the Bianconeri and RKM’s current parent club, PSG, could negotiate a permanent transfer.
As Kolo Muani gets ready to play his first game at the Allianz Stadium and has already touched down in Turin for his initial presentation, let’s take a closer look at how Juve could line up with the former Eintracht Frankfurt star.
Defense: GK Michele Di Gregorio, LB Andrea Cambiaso, CB Pierre Kalulu, CB Federico Gatti, RB Nicolo Savona
Midfield: DM Manuel Locatelli, DM Khephren Thuram, LAM Kenan Yildiz, RAM Nico Gonzalez
Attack: LS Dusan Vlahovic, RS Randal Kolo Muani
I am a believer in getting the most talented footballers on the pitch, and Juventus could use a more narrow 4-2-2-2 formation with wide attacking midfielders flanking the striker duo and aggressive overlapping fullbacks with a solid defensive midfield steadying a talented center back pairing.
On paper, this is one of the best starting lineups in Serie A, especially if everyone plays to their potential, including the new addition. Vlahovic has been isolated so often up top since joining Juve, and while Yildiz has been his most successful partner to this point, he needs more help.
Having a striker like Kolo Muani with the Frenchman’s speed and all-around ability will be key, as Kolo Muani can do the dirty work that enables the more technical Vlahovic to focus on staying in the box and scoring goals, which has been surprisingly an issue since his hyped transfer from Fiorentina.
Kolo Muani has been a 95 million euro transfer flop at PSG, but he cost that much because of the quality he showed in the Bundesliga. In Frankfurt, Kolo Muani put up 15 goals and 11 assists with a whopping 4.4 combined dribbles completed and fouls drawn per game, offering far more than just goal-scoring to the German side.
That’s exactly what Juventus need. If they want width, Kolo Muani will be more than willing to spread out wide, and Yildiz and Nico Gonzalez will be hybrid wingers and attacking midfielders while Savona and Cambiaso are two of the best young players in Serie A on the overlap.
