It seems like it may actually be happening. After two summers of on-again, off-again pursuit, Juventus have got their deal in place for Randal Kolo Muani. Le Parisien were the first to report the deal being done, saying that Kolo Muani would be reporting for his medical and to make the signing official on July 30th. The deal is reported to be a loan with an obligation to buy next summer at €38m with incentives that could see the package raised up to €50m.
This will be Kolo Muani’s second stint in Turin,
after he initially joined on loan for the second half of the 2024/25 season. During that first stint, he scored eight goals and added an assist in 1,160 Serie A minutes. The Bianconeri liked what they saw enough that they spent the entire summer trying to bring him back, taking negotiations all the way up to deadline day before PSG ultimately struck a deal with Tottenham for another loan deal. Unfortunately for the Frenchman, he was only able to contribute one goal and one assist as Tottenham battled relegation throughout the season.
It’s fair to ask why this took as long as it did, given Kolo Muani reportedly agreed personal terms with Juventus weeks ago, and a lot of it comes down to the financials. PSG paid €95m for Kolo Muani back in September 2023, and even with a disappointing year at Tottenham weighing on his value, they weren’t going to just give him away. After two seasons on a five year contract, and running straight-line amortization on that fee, Kolo Muani’s book value sits at a tidy €57m. After another year on loan, that will allow PSG to sell him at even value for – you guessed it – €38m. Juventus, for their part, are dealing with tighter finances after missing out on Champions League qualification. The loan structure allows PSG to ensure they’re not writing off negative value transfers on their books while allowing Juventus to both lower the overall cost and potentially wait a year until their finances may be in better shape.
Where this leaves the attack is genuinely interesting. Loïs Openda has been loaned to Lyon, and according to Romeo Agresti a second season for Jonathan David at Juventus is unlikely. Kolo Muani slotting back in gives Juventus a forward who’s already scored in this league, in this shirt, which is not nothing given how much of the rest of the frontline picture is unresolved. Whether he can actually recapture the form from his first stint after a rough year at Spurs, I think, is a fair real question – and it’s probably too early to answer with anything more than cautious optimism.
For now, it’s just nice to have a familiar face filling a position of need in what’s been an otherwise slow window.
