Mauricio Pochettino could be facing his first major transfer decision in the coming weeks involving summer target Randal Kolo Muani. The Eintracht Frankfurt star is being strongly linked to leave the club this summer with both Chelsea and Manchester United joining Bayern Munich in hoping to bring in a new striker ahead of the 2023/24 season, with Kolo Muani of interest to the trio.
The Blues and United being in the market for a top class striker alongside Bayern has seen their short list of targets cross over on several occasions. Napoli star Victor Osimhen appears to be the priority for all three , although whether any can afford the staggering £130million price tag set by the Serie A champions remains to be seen.
Because of Napoli's firm stance on a sale and lofty valuation, alternatives to the Nigeria international have been presented. One of those is Kolo Muani, who has been valued at more than €90million (£78.2m) by Frankfurt CEO Axel Hallmann, but all three interested clubs will have to wait a number of weeks before learning of Muani's transfer decision.
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“Randal Kolo Muani’s decision will come after the DFB Pokal cup final and France’s upcoming national games (until the 19th June),” Christian Falk exclusively informed CaughtOffside.
“He has time, then, to reach a decision and keep an eye on Manchester United’s ownership situation (which will affect how much they can spend). Chelsea are still in the race and he wants to wait and see if there will be talks with Mauricio Pochettino.”
A deal is in place for Pochettino to become Chelsea's next manager, football.london understands, but an official announcement is yet to arrive. Nonetheless, with everything in place for the Argentine, early discussions regarding transfers are sure to have taken place.
Kolo Muani is just one of several names linked with a Stamford Bridge switch but there is a real possibility he does make a move this summer going off and the Frenchman's own admission in March that it is his dream to play for a top European club.
“We talk about it a lot already, but I try to be focused on my club,” he told L’Equipe. “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. I ask the club to get me my statistics on my matches each time.
“I share this with my physical trainer to know what to improve. I do a lot of goals and assists, but it’s not at the level where I should be. I still miss quite a bit. This is only my third season as a pro.”
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