Randal Kolo Muani has found himself in a ‘two-sided crisis’ after leaving Tottenham Hotspur to return to Juventus this summer.
It is not all sunshine and roses for the French striker yet, despite backing from manager Luciano Spalletti.
While the Italian boss has made it clear that he will not abandon the 27-year-old any time soon, the pressure is already on the striker to prove his worth.
Spalletti pushed for Muani to be signed this summer after his unsuccessful loan spell at Tottenham. He is convinced that he’s the striker Juventus need. This is something he maintains despite a difficult start.
Support for now
The Juventus boss is offering support where he can and ‘seizing every stoppage in play’ ot shout instructions to his striker. This was recently demonstrated in the draw with AC Milan.
Kolo Muani did not reward him for his efforts. Instead, it was a show of ‘total stagnation’ despite positive numbers elsewhere.
The story appears in Tuesday’s print edition of Tuttosport.
Juventus are now on the hunt for a solution to the striker’s ‘physical and mental’ struggles. The belief is that it is a ‘nuanced and complex’ issue to unravel.
It is possibly all just a mental issue – a lack of self-confidence, perhaps stemming from his miserable spell at Tottenham. The striker has already spoken publicly about that.
Physical concerns
There are also physical concerns around the player. He’s still far from the level required for the demands and pace of Serie A. This is evident in the ‘physical duels he engages in, the limited ground he covers and a lack of explosiveness’.
That is likely due to a summer spent largely as a squad player with PSG’s youth teams after returning from Tottenham. There is also a tactical mismatch at this moment in time.
He’s being utilised as a target man, which is not his game. He has also been better in behind, using space to shine. At the moment that’s not on offer and so he’s struggling.
Combine those with mental struggles and you have a ‘two-sided crisis’ developing early on in his Juventus career. So far, it has not proven to be the remedy to his Tottenham misery that he was looking for.
