Starting at the forefront of the Juventus attack against Frosinone, Randal Kolo Muani had a particularly difficult evening. The French international multiplied the approximations and missed opportunities, like this huge opportunity a few meters from the goal which he sent over the cage. Unable to keep certain balls in the area and uninspired in his choices, the former Parisian left a very negative impression despite the narrow success of the Bianconeri, ultimately saved by a header from Bremer (0-1). A performance quickly became a subject of mockery on Italian social networks, where footage of his failures circulated widely after the final whistle. The transalpine press did not spare the Frenchman either, pointing out his lack of efficiency and his inability to take advantage of the spaces left by the Frosinone defense. For Kolo Muani, this first day of Serie A should have served to ideally launch his season under the orders of Luciano Spalletti, but it will ultimately have revived questions around his performance in the last gesture.
This poor performance is all the more worrying as Kolo Muani already knows perfectly well the expectations surrounding him in Turin. Juventus decided to bet on him after his first convincing stint in Piedmont, during which he scored eight goals from his 14 shots on target, for 26 attempts in total. An efficiency which largely contributed to convincing the managers to continue the adventure with the French international after his loan to Tottenham. But since his return, doubt has set in and his match in Frosinone offers a striking contrast with the promises displayed during his first experience. In Italy, some are already starting to wonder if the Frenchman can really become this number 9 capable of carrying out the Turin attack. Pressure quickly mounts around the former darling of FC Nantes, whose slightest failures are now scrutinized. And while Juventus is still struggling to find consistency in front of goal, this failed evening could have much more important consequences than a simple bad match.
Two tracks already relaunched
But the problem does not stop with the Kolo Muani case. After this first day, Luciano Spalletti made it clear to his management that additional reinforcement was necessary at the forefront of the attack. “ We recruited Kolo Muani, we took care of him and we know his value. But he has to realize that he hasn’t played in two years and that there has to be a reason. Sometimes we think we’re at the top of our game, but we’ve left something out that we need to find again. These are matches where we have to score, because the spaces are to our advantage. Today, there was space, but we did not know how to exploit it “. Against Frosinone, the Bianconeri again produced enough situations to kill the match, but the lack of sharpness in the final meters was once again obvious. The former Napoli coach therefore wants a center forward with different characteristics, capable in particular of bringing a physical presence in the area when the opponents close the game in the last minutes. A request which necessarily resonates as an alert for Kolo Muani, supposed to embody one of the main offensive solutions of the Turin project.
There Gazzetta dello Sport also confirms that Juventus is still actively working on the file for an additional number 9. And the avenues studied give a fairly precise idea of Turin’s intentions. The Bianconeri leaders are working in particular on Joshua Zirkzee, currently at Manchester United, as well as Alexander Sørloth, under contract with Atlético de Madrid. Two profiles capable of offering another dimension to the offensive sector and responding to the request publicly formulated by Spalletti. This research comes at a time when Juventus must also resolve several issues in its workforce, notably with Jonathan David whose departure is still being considered, as are the sales of Michele Di Gregorio, Mattia Perin, Teun Koopmeiners and even Fabio Miretti. If Kolo Muani retains the confidence of his trainer, his status is no longer completely safe. After such a worrying meeting in the finish and the particularly strong declarations of Spalletti, Juventus already seems to consider that it cannot depend on a single center forward to regain an efficiency worthy of its ambitions.
