EVEN Randal Kolo Muani admits that his World Cup final miss will haunt him forever.
But a move to the Premier League could be a big step in burying that memory and reigniting his career after he was frozen out at Paris Saint-Germain.
GettyRandal Kolo Muani has been out of favour at PSG[/caption]
EPAKolo Muani was thwarted by Emi Martinez in the World Cup final[/caption]
Tottenham are leading the chase for the France international, 26, with Manchester United also in the hunt.
And they hope RKM can reproduce the form that made him a star at Eintracht Frankfurt, rather than the moment that he is best remembered for outside Germany.
It was 3-3 in stoppage time at the end of extra-time in the most incredible World Cup final of all time when Kolo Muani had the chance to win it for France.
As he bore down on Argentina’s goal, he had captain Kylian Mbappe to his left, ready to become the first player to score four times in the biggest game in international football.
But Kolo Muani went for goal himself and Emi Martinez kept the ball out with the left leg, earning his team a penalty shootout which they won to clinch the trophy for the third time.
RKM said: “I could have lobbed him, I could have given the ball to Kylian, but in the moment, I didn’t see him.
“After when you see the video, you see that there were other options, but it’s too late, you cannot do anything. It still sticks it in my throat and it’ll be there for life.”
To be fair to Kolo Muani, he didn’t seem to allow the disappointment to affect the rest of his breakout season for Eintracht.
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Having been signed on a free transfer from French club Nantes in the summer of 2022, he returned from Qatar and picked up where he had left off.
Kolo Muani racked up 10 more goals and three more assists in the Bundesliga and fired Eintracht to the German cup final, ending the campaign with 23 goals and 17 assists in 46 appearances across all competitions.
Erik Peters, who covers Eintracht for leading German media outlet Bild, said: “Kolo Muani had an incredible season.
“From his very first game, when he came on as a substitute and scored against Bayern Munich, he looked special.
“He was so quick, with his long legs, and had great skills.”.
One of Kolo Muani’s standout moments is a painful memory for one of the managers who could soon be in charge of him.
Ruben Amorim was boss of Sporting Lisbon when Eintracht came to Portugal in December for a winner-takes-all clash in the final round of Champions League group games.
And it was Kolo Muani who grabbed the winner as the German side came from behind to win 2-1, thus clinching a place in the last 16 and sending Sporting into the Europa League.
You can make a good argument that Kolo Muani would be better suited to Amorim’s system of play at United than Ange Postecoglou’s set-up at Spurs.
GettyKolo Muani previously starred for Eintracht Frankfurt[/caption]
At Eintracht, he was mainly used as the front man in a 3-4-2-1 formation.
And if Postecoglou sees the Frenchman more as an option out wide, he will be making a mistake – according to Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner.
The Palace head coach left Eintracht at the end of 2022-23.
Shortly after Kolo Muani made his own move to PSG, Glasner still gave him a glowing reference – but warned he would be wasted if played on the wing.
Glasner said: “For me, he isn’t a wide player.
“I needed to see a Kolo Muani who scored goals, and out wide, he made lots of assists, but he scored very little.
“So he needed to be in the middle.
“Kolo Muani was also our No9, but he had a lot of freedom. I couldn’t ask for him to wait in the box for the ball to come. He needed to find spaces in the defence.”
BITTER FAREWELL
But the happy memories that Eintracht fans have of Kolo Muani were overshadowed by the manner of his departure to PSG.
To some, it was understandable that the Frenchman wanted to play for one of the biggest clubs in Europe in the city of birth – he, Arsenal’s William Saliba and Mbappe are all from the French capital’s north-east suburbs.
But the way he forced the move left a bad taste in the mouth.
After returning from the World Cup, Kolo Muani had changed his agent and teamed up with Moussa Sissoko, whose client roster included Ousmane Dembele.
Back in 2017, Dembele went on strike at Borussia Dortmund before moving to Barcelona.
Kolo Muani did the same when PSG, having already signed Dembele, stepped up their efforts to sign him as well.
The transfer went right to the wire on deadline day in September 2023, but in the end Eintracht were able to squeeze 95m Euros (nearly £80m) out of PSG.
It was an incredible fee but little compensation at the time for the Eintracht fans, who branded Kolo Muani greedy.
‘Cash doesn’t change character, it just makes it visible’
At the first game after his rancorous exit, they displayed a banner that read: Kohle Muani (Kohle is German for money) – cash doesn’t change character, it just makes it visible.”
Some still feel that Kolo Muani is a decent bloke who was just badly advised.
But it’s fair to say that there is plenty of schadenfreude in Frankfurt that things have not worked out for him at PSG.
Boss Luis Enrique repeatedly defended Kolo Muani as he struggled to gel with Mbappe and Dembele, despite them being established as France’s front three.
But with RKM being shifted out wide at times and amid rumours of a row with Mbappe, the big-money signing’s form flatlined, with the last of his six Ligue 1 goals in 2023-24 coming on February 10.
NOT A ONE-HIT WONDER
Enrique seems to have given up on Kolo Muani this season, giving him just two starts in the league before leaving him out of the squad completely and making him available for transfer.
Anyone who takes him will want to see the frontman who scored three times as France topped their Nations League A group – and who looked like one of the hottest talents in the world in 2022-23.
Peters said: “In Frankfurt, they know that the price they got for Muani was inflated because PSG wanted him so badly.
“But they don’t think he is a one-hit wonder.
“The Premier League, with the pace of the game and the importance of transitions, could be the perfect place for him.”
But even if Kolo Muani ends up scoring past Villa goalkeeper Martinez, it won’t make up for that World Cup final moment.
GettyKolo Muani could bring his skills to the Premier League soon[/caption] Creator – [#item_custom_dc:creator]
