unwanted at Paris Saint-Germain, Randal Kolo Muani shines with the Blues

It's an image we're starting to get used to. That of Randal Kolo Muani climbing the steps of the French football team training center in Clairefontaine (Yvelines) one by one, with a smile on his face. Selected by Didier Deschamps for the last meeting of the year 2024, the Paris Saint-Germain striker will most likely honor his 26^e et 27^e selections in the tricolor jersey during the matches against Israel and Italy, scheduled for Thursday November 14 and Sunday November 17 as part of the group stage of the League of Nations.

At the club, the 25-year-old nevertheless suffers from an undesirable status. Arriving in September 2023 in the capital, for an amount of around 90 million euros, the striker gradually lost his starting place under the orders of Luis Enrique. For his second season with PSG, “RKM” is limited to a substitute role.

The Iberian coach prefers the South Korean Lee Kang-in or the Spaniard Marco Asensio who are not advanced attackers, but have more versatile profiles. Consequence: Randal Kolo Muani has only played 50 minutes in PSG's last five games. And his last start dates back to October 6, against OGC Nice.

“Randal has a situation that is not ideal with his club, agreed Didier Deschamps in September. With us, he does a lot of good things, with good efficiency. It's not ideal, but it has often happened, with quite a few players, to have more complicated situations in their club. That didn't stop them from performing well in the French team. » An implicit reference to Olivier Giroud, often a substitute during his stints at Arsenal then Chelsea (England) and yet an unbreakable member of Didier Deschamps' starting eleven.

Decisive in the French team

Kolo Muani was called up for the first time with the Blues in September 2022. The striker took advantage of Christopher Nkunku's withdrawal to join the group for the World Cup in Qatar. Since then, he has never left the French team where he has an honorable record, with 8 goals in 25 caps.

Decisive in each of his appearances, against Morocco then Argentina in the final of the 2022 World Cup, he reiterated this status of super sub – “super substitute” – this summer, at the Euro, causing defender Jan Vertonghen to score an own goal in the round of 16 against Belgium (0-1).

Then starting against Spain in the semi-final, he scored the only goal in the game for the Blues during the competition. Fast, powerful and efficient with his head, Kolo Muani can use his qualities within a French team focused on defensive rigor and a rapid attack in transition.

“At PSG, more is expected of me, given the transfer price, underlined the person concerned during a press conference in June. I feel this pressure less in the France team, and that’s why I play a little more liberated.”

During the Nations League match against Belgium on October 14 in Brussels (1-2), he scored a double, the first of his career with the Blues, at the same time becoming the top scorer of the French team in 2024, with six achievements.

Offensive executives who have left or are in difficulty

If Kolo Muani benefits from playing time with the Blues, it is also because the latter's attack line is decimated. Not very effective at the Euro, it was diminished by the international retirements of Olivier Giroud and Antoine Griezmann, which occurred in July and then in October.

Already in difficulty during international competition this summer, Kylian Mbappé is experiencing a complicated start to the season for Real Madrid, also affected by extra-sporting matters. Absent from Didier Deschamps' list for the gathering in October, the captain of the Blues was, once again, not called up for this international break. A first since 2019.

In this context, Randal Kolo Muani occupies the field within the French attack. His only competition for the position of power forward? Marcus Thuram (Inter Milan), less decisive in the French jersey (26 caps, 2 goals). Present in the starting eleven of the France team during the last three meetings, Randal Kolo Muani could start again on Thursday against Israel at the Stade de France (Saint-Denis).

But the striker knows it: ultimately, he will have to find playing time at the club. At PSG, or elsewhere. A departure “is not at all on the agenda”specifies those around him.