Randal Kolo Muani has been arguably the success story of the January transfer window with his winter switch from Paris Saint-Germain to Juventus on loan already resulting in more goals for his new Italian side than he had managed all season up until the start of 2025 with the Ligue 1 giants. The France international has already managed to score five times across just four games with Thiago Motta’s side since arriving in Turin later than expected due to PSG needing to rearrange their loanees which resulted in Cher Ndour joining Fiorentina permanently last month.
Kolo Muani has wasted little time adapting to Serie A soccer, though, with doubles against both Empoli and Como to go with his debut strike against Napoli, although he did draw his first blank in midweek against PSV Eindhoven in the UEFA Champions League knockout round playoffs. Regardless of that goalless outing, his overall return has been very good for a Juve side that has not exactly been prolific so far with his current numbers still better than one goal per game and a world away from his Parisien struggles.
Seeing just two goals with PSG over the course of the first half of this campaign does not tell the full story of the former Eintracht Frankfurt and FC Nantes man’s struggles under Luis Enrique who has since struck gold with Ousmane Dembele’s conversion into a highly prolific false nine. Incorporate international soccer into the mix and Kolo Muani was getting more minutes and therefore scoring more goals with the France national team as Didier Deschamps made him Les Bleus’ main attacking threat in Kylian Mbappe’s absence.
“It is part of a soccer player’s career — you always have to fight to progress and move forward,” said the Bondy native recently after joining Juve. “For me, it is all about continuing to work and giving the absolute best of myself. I am particularly happy. “I had to get playing time — I need it. I like being on the field as does any player and although I was going in the wrong direction, I feel better now. We can say that it is confidence or whatever but it is also down to me working and not giving up. I keep going and do what I do best but I will always be happy so long as I am playing.”
Kolo Muani is not the only one benefitting from the move with his new coach Motta suddenly possessing greater cutting edge than he had been used to so far this term with Dusan Vlahovic just three goals ahead of the new arrival and Tim Weah on the same tally as the January recruit. The USMNT international has managed that number from a position generally further back on the field while wonderkid Kenan Yildiz also has four goals to his name which illustrates how much of a work in progress the Bianconeri were before the transfer.
“Everything is going better than well so far — I am delighted to be here,” the Juve No. 20 told Sky Italia this week. “I have been truly welcomed as if I was joining a big family. Honestly, I feel very good. I repeat, I am very happy here in Turin. For now, the future does not worry me and I am simply enjoying the moment and hoping to do even more. It is a big change to Ligue 1 and we are working a lot more here where the soccer is far more tactical.”
Ultimately, Kolo Muani and Dembele are not the same profile of player and the former is showing that he is well-suited to the system being played by Juve at present while the latter is now thriving in the role that his former teammate was never truly cut out for. Playing a different style under a different coach might have changed that, but Luis Enrique’s recent contract extension suggests that things will not be changing at Parc des Princes despite the absence of a purchase clause obligation to buy this summer in the loan deal.
Should things continue at their current pace, it would not be a surprise to see the Old Lady work out a way to either sign Kolo Muani outright or at least extend his loan stay through a full season until he can be bought permanently and added to the French contingent alongside the likes of Khephren Thuram and Pierre Kalulu. Given the signing of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia from Napoli last month and Dembele’s explosion of form along with Bradley Barcola and Desire Doue’s creativity, it seems that the French star’s future could now be in Italy with another chance to impress coming up in Serie A on Sunday against Inter.
