Italian media appear to have a sore spot for Tottenham Hotspur star Randal Kolo-Muani
Failure to get a transfer target often makes certain teams do something out of the box, something extraordinary. However, Juve-backed Italian media has done extra in doing something which is very ordinary. Randal Kolo Muani made a move from him Paris Saint-Germain to Tottenham on deadline day and failure to get him on board has surely not gone down well in Turin.
TuttoJuve have been on his back, citing injury among plenty of other reasons to justify him not playing as much for Tottenham since making the move to North London. First came the face saving spin. Juventus claimed they had the option to take Kolo Muani on good terms but supposedly chose Lois Openda instead. No one with sense bought that. It was clearly an attempt to dress up the fact that they missed out on someone they genuinely wanted. Now, with the dust settled, that frustration is showing up as lazy criticism. Comments about fitness, adaptation, and minutes. Anything to poke at the move and soothe their own egos.
What they conveniently ignore is the reality of the squad he has joined. He has not walked into a team desperate for a warm body up front. He is competing with other top internationals. You do not just walk into automatic starts because of your price tag. You earn it in training, you match the tempo, you understand the system. That takes time and any serious club works that way.
We’ve got the likes of Dominic Solanke, Richarlison, Mathys Tel and Dane Scarlett competing for the striker spot and Kolo Muani’s inclusion in the list is not going to make the choice very easy by any means. Especially the first two players mentioned here, who have enough of Premier League experience and it would be very difficult to have them give their place up to player who is only starting to swim against the tough current that is the English top-tier.
The tempo is higher, the physicality is heavier, and the tactical work never stops. Even top talent needs a real adjustment period. Not everyone is like Erling Haaland who took to the Premier League like a duck to water.
We signed him because we know the level he can hit over the long term. The focus now is on getting him fully fit and fully settled, not on reacting to jealous takes from clubs still licking their wounds.
When he is sharp and firing, the only people still talking will be the ones wishing things had gone differently in August. And they will not be whispering about favourable terms anymore.