Kolo Muani, that lost ball and a €50 million obsession that does not score: NEC and Atalanta the last chances
The French striker disappoints again: he never scores and the decision to spend €50 million on him remains a mystery
Even after Randal Kolo Muani's dreadful display against Sassuolo, Luciano Spalletti has not jumped off the French striker's bandwagon: "We have to play more through Kolo Muani. When the opposition go man to man, you have to play it into the centre-forward, get him to hold it up and then offer support. Instead, we did it only a few times, even if in some cases he has to be more ruthless, that is true". Spalletti has little choice, and he cannot say anything else. Alongside Nick Woltemade, Kolo Muani is one of only two centre-forwards in the Juventus squad, excluding Arek Milik (left out of the UEFA and Serie A lists), and the manager certainly cannot throw him under the bus in September, aside from the barb after the match against Frosinone.
That ball lost
Against Sassuolo, Kolo Muani was a ghost in every phase of play: finding space, controlling the ball and shooting. He did not attempt a single effort and, when the chance finally came, in the 94th minute, instead of shooting he stubbornly persisted with a disastrous dribble in the box, losing the ball that set up Sassuolo's 3-2 goal, scored (reluctantly) by former Juventus man Adzic, and fraying the nerves across the entire Juventus camp, from the manager to the fans.
Spalletti’s choices
Spalletti is still defending Kolo Muani in public, and as he said himself, he can hardly do otherwise. In reality, though, the Certaldo coach is weighing up every option at his disposal, because everyone can see that Thursday's Europa League match against NEC Nijmegen and, above all, Sunday's league game against Atalanta already represent a major turning point in Juventus' season. Across the next two matches, Kolo Muani will certainly still have time and opportunities to play and to find the net, having yet to score this season. What remains to be seen is whether he does so both times as a starter, or off the bench. Whether he does so as a lone striker or alongside Woltemade and, if so, whether he will be the one playing further forward, with the German in the hole, or the other way round. Either way, the chances for the former Tottenham player will still be limited, and every minute on the pitch from now on will be crucial.
A low-profile obsession
Broaden the discussion around Kolo Muani and, given his current performances, it remains a mystery why as many as three Juventus directors, at different times, chased the 1998-born player almost obsessively. First Giuntoli, who signed him on loan in January 2025, then Comolli, who pursued him in vain throughout the summer of 2025, and finally Carnevali, who after lengthy negotiations in the summer of 2026 signed him permanently for the significant sum of 38 million fixed plus 12 in bonuses.
"We cannot think that Juventus have become a club at a lower level than what they are. We are in a cycle, there will be difficulties and also the possibility of returning to the top", Juventus chief executive Giovanni Carnevali said yesterday. The feeling now, then, is that the decision to focus on Kolo Muani belongs entirely to a Juve side who are struggling to rise above a level beneath their history. Once, Juventus could afford, for example, France's best in every position, from Platini to Zidane via Deschamps, Trezeguet, Lilian Thuram, Vieira and Pogba. Today, by contrast, the Old Lady need a year to bring Kolo Muani back to Turin, a player who was not called up for the World Cup and who is not, at least, among the ten strongest French forwards at the moment.
