A new striker is a priority for Manchester United in the summer transfer window, and Randal Kolo Muani is one of the forwards on Erik ten Hag's shortlist.
After winning the Carabao Cup, reaching the FA Cup final and securing a top-four finish in the Premier League, it was a very successful first season for Ten Hag at United. But, there's still room for improvement, and it looks like a new striker will be the starting point for United.
Marcus Rashford starred, but given Anthony Martial's injury record a host of new attacking options have been linked with a move to Old Trafford, including Frankfurt's Kolo Muani. The France striker grabbed 23 goals and 14 assists across all competitions for the German side, leading to the 24-year-old being linked with United as well Bayern Munich.
So, if United were to sign Kolo Muani, could the striker solve United's striker problem? Let's take a look.
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To set up this simulation, we used the Football Manager 2023 editor to arrange for the 24-year-old to join United on July 1, 2023, using FM23 to run the simulation. We then simulated the entire 2023/24 season to see how the French international could perform.
With Kolo Muani in the squad, Ten Hag opted to use the new signing in almost every game, with the striker making 55 appearances in all competitions. Martial rarely got a sniff due to Kolo Muani's incredible goal record, with the Frenchman scoring 27 and assisting four in his first season at the club.
A fantastic attribute Kolo Muani had was his availability, with the striker avoiding injury all season and starting all 38 Premier League games for United, scoring 21 goals and assisting three. He also impressed in the Champions League where he scored four and assisted one in 10 games, whilst the 24-year-old scored once in both the FA and Carabao Cup.
Kolo Muani didn't average the greatest rating per game (6.95), with the Carabao Cup and the Champions League his best competitions based on that metric. He also won just a single Player of the Match award, with only one attacker in the United squad winning fewer.
Rashford impressed again, scoring 16, assisting seven and winning 11 Player of the Match awards while averaging the highest average rating in the United squad (7.42). Antony had his best season yet as the winger scored 14 and assisted nine, while Bruno Fernandes hit his highest-ever assist tally in one season for United, grabbing 18 in the simulation.
At the end of the 2023/24 season, Football Manager 2023 put together an overall best United XI, based on performances, statistics and other metrics. This is what United's best XI looked like at the end of the 2023/24 season as predicted by Football Manager 2023:
Full United best XI (4-2-3-1): De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Martinez, Malacia; Casemiro, Eriksen; Antony, Fernandes, Rashford; Kolo Muani.
After his tremendous first season at United, Kolo Muani made the best XI, leading the attack, supported by Antony, Fernandes and Rashford. With the Frenchman up front, United impressed once again in the Premier League, claiming third place for the second consecutive year.
A total of 22 wins, nine draws and seven losses saw Ten Hag's side end the campaign with 75 points, the exact same tally as the 2022/23 season. Aston Villa proved the surprise package of the season with Unai Emery leading his side to a second-place finish, while Chelsea claimed the final top-four spot, finishing two points behind United.
Compared to last season, United were better in attack and defence, scoring 12 more and conceding seven fewer. But, they weren't as successful in the cups, failing to win a trophy in the simulation.
After six out of six wins in the group stages, United were knocked out of the Champions League in the quarter-finals following a 2-1 aggregate defeat to Paris Saint-Germain. United lost 5-3 on aggregate in the Carabao Cup semi finals to Newcastle United, while their FA Cup journey ended in the fourth round following a 2-0 defeat against Arsenal.
Would you like to see United sign Kolo Muani? Let us know in the comments!
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