Kolo Muani: The story so far

Randal Kolo Muani became our sixth and final signing of the summer having secured a season-long loan from Paris Saint-Germain on transfer deadline day (1 September).

The 26-year-old France international has wracked up 269 senior appearances across previous spells in France, Germany and Italy and now embarks on a new chapter in England, so let's take a look at his journey from his homeland to north London.

Fledgling Canary

Born in Bondy, a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, Randal grew up playing football at school and on the Parisian streets - known colloquially as ballon sur bitume, meaning 'concrete football' - a major part of the city's culture that influences many of the young talent in the French capital.

After playing for several clubs in the Île-de-France region during his childhood, the budding forward joined FC Nantes' academy in 2015 and started out in Nantes B where he made his first appearance at 17 years old against FC Fleury 91 in the then called Championnat de France Amateur (CFA).

Remaining in that side the following season, Randal scored eight times in 21 appearances in the CFA and his form caught the attention of then first team coach Sérgio Conceição who included him in the matchday squad for a home Ligue 1 clash against Olympique de Marseille in February, 2017, remaining an unused substitute in the 3-2 win.

Ligue 1 debut, loan and silverware

As he continued to show promise in the academy and featured in a handful of senior matchday squads without an appearance, the versatile forward made his professional debut in an away Ligue 1 trip to Saint-Etienne in November, 2018 and, two months later, was given his first start at Angers.

Featuring four more times in the French top flight that term, the next season saw him loaned to second-tier side US Boulogne Côte d'Opale to gain more first team experience and played 14 matches in the National Championship, scoring three times and supplying five assists.

With the 2019/20 season curtailed in March due to the Covid-19 pandemic, he returned to Les Canaris ahead of the 2020/21 campaign and quickly established himself as a starter at Stade de la Beaujoire. After opening his senior account in a 3-1 home win over Stade Brestois in October, 2020, the goal contributions started flowing for Randal who ended with 10 goals and nine assists across 40 appearances in all competitions.

After helping Nantes stave off relegation with a goal against Toulouse in the Ligue 1/Ligue 2 playoffs to conclude the previous season, he backed up his breakthrough year with another impressive return and, deployed most regularly as a centre-forward but adept at playing across the frontline, contributed 17 times - 12 goals, five assists - in 36 league matches and a further five appearances - one goal, two assists - in the Coupe de France as La Maison Jaune claimed their first trophy in 20 years.

Frankfurt and France duty

Departing western France for western Germany with a move to Eintracht Frankfurt in 2022/23, he announced himself to the Bundesliga with a consolation goal against FC Bayern in the league opener and, by the time the league paused for the 2022 World Cup in the winter, the forward had 16 goal contributions - five goals, 11 assists - in the top flight.

A talent we saw first-hand that term, when he lined-up against us home and away in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League in October, 2022, Randal was included in France's World Cup squad despite being capped only twice, making his debut against Austria in the September, prior to the major international tournament in Qatar.

Starting against Tunisia in their final group game, the forward had to bide his time as he remained an unused substitute in the Round of 16 and quarter-finals but made his mark off the bench by scoring his first international goal to secure the 2-0 win over Morocco in the last four.

Introduced just before half-time in the final up against Cristian Romero's Argentina, he drew the foul for the penalty on 81 minutes which ignited Les Bleus' comeback from two goals down in normal time and, after being denied the winner in the closing seconds of extra time by the out-stretched boot of goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, would later convert his own spot kick in the nail-biting penalty shootout but agonisingly finished runners-up in a thrilling showpiece in Doha.

Returning to Frankfurt in the New Year, Randal picked up where he left off to end with 23 goals and 17 assists in all competitions that term, including six goals in as many DFB Cup matches although SGE finished runners-up to RB Leipzig, and scored in the opening game of the following season before returning to his homeland with a move to Paris Saint-Germain on 1 September, 2023.

Paris to Turin

Back in his birthplace, the striker quickly made his mark in the capital and scored his first goal and provided an assist to help beat Marseille 4-0 in Le Classique on matchday three. A few weeks later, he opened his Champions League account in their colours in a 3-0 victory over AC Milan at the Parc des Princes and featured 10 times in Europe that term. Randal would add three trophies to his collection thanks to the domestic treble - Ligue 1, Coupe de France and Trophée des Champions - in 2023/24.

After scoring on the opening day against Le Havre the subsequent season, the centre-forward found starting opportunities hard to come by and moved on loan to Juventus in the January of this year. He hit the ground running in Turin by netting on debut against Napoli and then bagged a brace in consecutive league games to become the first player since Roberto Baggio in 1990 to find the net in his opening three Serie A matches for the Bianconeri.

During his time there, he played 22 matches, scoring 10 goals and providing three assists, helping the Italian side finish fourth in Serie A to secure Champions League qualification and, most recently, scored twice against Al Ain in their FIFA Club World Cup opener over the summer. Prior to that, the striker featured for France in the UEFA Nations League finals, scoring the fourth in their semi-final 5-4 defeat to Pedro Porro's Spain, and started the third place play-off against Germany to earn his 31st cap.