New No.9 at Old Trafford? Why Kolo Muani would be a smart signing for Man Utd this summer

Rumoured signing 

Manchester United’s need for a new forward this summer reached its highest level this weekend, when Barcelona confirmed the signing of Marcus Rashford on loan for the forthcoming season. While the England international was never expected to play a big role in Ruben Amorim’s plans going forward, his departure now means that the Old Trafford club only have one recognised No.9 in the squad in the form of Rasmus Højlund, alongside maybe two potential back-ups if called upon in Joshua Zirkzee and Matheus Cunha. 

There’s little doubt that the club are in the market for a new goalscorer and according to fresh reports, the Premier League giants have turned their attention towards Paris Saint-Germain forward Randal Kolo Muani. As Gazzetta dello Sport suggests, Man Utd are prepared to rival Juventus for the signature of the 25-year-old talisman. And while Kolo Muani may not be the blockbuster name that will get fans of the club excited for the new season, he could prove to be a smart addition to Amorim’s team. 

How good is Randal Kolo Muani? 

Kolo Muani was something of a late bloomer in French football. After playing for a number of clubs in and around Paris in his youth, he eventually made his Ligue 1 debut for Nantes just a few weeks before his 20th birthday and quickly made up for lost time with some impressive performances that ultimately led to Eintracht Frankfurt picking the striker up on a pre-contract agreement. That deal proved to be a stroke of genius from the German club, who then sold Kolo Muani back to French football one year later for a remarkable sum of €95 million, following a move to Paris Saint-Germain. However, his return to the French capital didn’t quite work out and after a season on loan at Juventus, Kolo Muani is in desperate need of another smart move to rejuvenate his career. 

However, despite tumbling down the pecking order in Paris, Kolo Muani has always maintained an impressive record in front of goal. As we can see in the graph above, his rate of goals and assists per 90 minutes of league football has always been impressive, despite what circumstances he finds himself in. Naturally, when everything was going well for Kolo Muani in the Bundesliga, he was averaging a very impressive 0.99 goals and assists per 90. However, his time at PSG was far from the car crash that some suggested it was, with a very solid return of 0.76 goal contributions per 90, which was then more or less maintained at Juventus last season. As we can see, both figures are even better than the forward’s record at Nantes, which first drew the attention of Frankfurt. 

This, clearly, is why Man Utd are considering a move for the 25-year-old talent. To put Kolo Muani’s perceived drop in form into perspective, if he had been playing for Man Utd last season and averaged 0.76 goals and assists per 90 in the Premier League, he would have averaged far more goal contributions than Amad Diallo (0.75), Alejandro Garnacho (0.33), Bruno Fernandes (0.57) and Hojlund (0.22). And for a club that managed only 44 goals scored in 38 league games, Kolo Muani could have been pivotal to Amorim getting his team up the league table. Which would certainly suggest that the Old Trafford club would be fortunate to have him for the forthcoming league campaign.  

How much will Randal Kolo Muani cost? 

Another reason why Kolo Muani could prove to be a smart signing for Man Utd is due to the fact that he’s relatively inexpensive. According to the aforementioned report from Italy, Juventus do want to sign the French forward, but may only be able to offer another loan deal. Which means that Man Utd could potentially swoop in with a transfer fee and persuade PSG to sell them their unwanted striker, if they’re looking to earn some income from the summer transfer window. 

While no specific fee has been referenced yet, the manner in which Kolo Muani has fallen from grace at PSG would suggest that he’ll be sold for nothing like the €95m PSG paid for him back in 2023. And, as we can see in the graph above, his market value has dropped dramatically from a career high of €80m during his season at Frankfurt, to where it now stands at just €30m. For that price - or even if PSG demand up to €40 or €45m for the striker - Man Utd could potentially be signing a new talisman that will score plenty of goals for them next season. Perhaps not the flashiest transfer of the summer, but maybe one of the most important ones for Man Utd.