Manchester United have seen a sizeable bid turned down for a prolific top-five European league striker this window, according to recent reports.
How good is Randal Kolo Muani?
Randal Kolo Muani is a distinctive attacking force who would've added another dimension to Manchester United's final third. In his time at Eintracht Frankfurt, Kolo Muani, who has previously been labelled as "explosive" by his former youth coach Yann Lecoq, has enjoyed a meteoric rise to becoming one of Europe's most prolific marksmen, registering 25 goals and 17 assists in 48 appearances across all competitions, as per Transfermarkt.
Expectedly, he has started the new Bundesliga campaign in fine fettle, netting the opening goal in his current employers' 1-0 victory over Darmstadt in their first league fixture, as per Sofascore. The France international converted his goal from an xG of 0.91 and picked up a match rating of 7.2/10 for his exploits on the pitch for Eintracht Frankfurt.
According to FBRef, Kolo Muani ranks highly compared to his positional peers across Europe's top five divisions in successful take-ons and has managed around 2.24 per 90 minutes in the last 365 days, putting him in the 96th percentile.
What happened with United's bid?
According to L'Equipe journalist Loic Tanzi, via Sport Witness, Manchester United have had a bid in the region of €70 million plus bonuses (£60m) turned down for Eintracht Frankfurt striker Randal Kolo Muani earlier this window.
Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain are also looking to add to their star-studded squad and are keen to bring the France international to the nation's capital – they now hope to finalise his signature later this week.
As per L'Equipe, transcribed by The Mirror, Kolo Muani did not close the door on a move to Old Trafford and even confirmed his dream is to play for an elite-level club in an interview earlier this year, stating: "We talk about it a lot already, but I try to be focused on my club. We continue our performances and we will see this summer. Afterwards, I always dreamed of playing in big clubs. I thought I was going to need some time to adapt, maybe a year. But everything exploded. Either way, I’m ready for any challenge."
Foot Mercato claim that Paris Saint-Germain have agreed personal terms with the 24-year-old on a deal that would see him sign on for five years at the Parc des Princes. Tottenham Hotspur were reported to be keen on Kolo Muani earlier this summer, though their lack of Champions League football complicated any potential swoop, as per Sport Bild.
Manchester United now look to have found their solution to a long-standing striking problem in the form of Rasmus Hojlund, who joined the Premier League giants from Atalanta in a transfer worth £72 million, as per Sky Sports. Nevertheless, the Denmark international is currently out injured due to a back problem and it is unclear when he will come into contention to make his Red Devils debut, according to The Evening Standard.
Manchester United could've benefitted from having someone of Kolo Muani's unique abilities leading the line in 2023/24, though they will be excited to see how Hojlund settles in once his injury clears up.
