Reports: Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain agree to loan deal for Randal Kolo Muani

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Juventus' search for a new striker has reached its conclusion.

For the second time in 24 hours, Juventus have reportedly closed a deal for a player who will provide some much-needed depth in a position that is incredibly thin.

And, just like on Monday, that shopping on the transfer market has come from outside of Italy.

According to reports from just about every major outlet and transfer reporter in Italy that broke just before kickoff of Tuesday night's draw against Atalanta — including Romeo Agresti of ilbianconero.com and Sky Italia's Gianluca Di Marzio — Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain have agreed to a loan deal for French striker Randal Kolo Muani. The deal will be a straight loan for the rest of the 2024-25 season and there will be no sort of option or obligation to buy attached things for over the summer. However, according to Fabrizio Romano, Juventus and PSG have left open the possibility of negotiating some sort of deal over the summer if Kolo Muani impresses Cristiano Giuntoli enough to extend his stay in Turin past June.

Romano also said that Juventus will cover the full amount of Kolo Muani's salary for the second half of the season. He reportedly earns around €7.5 million a season at PSG.

Kolo Muani is expected in Turin later this week to undergo his medical exams at J Medical.

So, a day after closing a deal for Vitória Guimarães fullback Alberto Costa — who arrived in Italy late Tuesday night ahead of his own medical exams — Juventus have now gotten the striker in which Giuntoli wanted to add this month to provide Thiago Motta with some sort of solid alternative to Dusan Vlahovic. With the big Serbian striker currently out injured and Arek Milik having suffered a setback earlier this month in his own comeback from knee surgery last summer, there's the very real possibility that Kolo Muani will be needed pretty much right off the bat just so Motta isn't playing a winger or attacking midfielder as a false nine again.

Now, what version of Kolo Muani that Juventus are getting is a huge part of the deal, too.

Considering it's a short-term loan deal, PSG want to send the 26-year-old Frenchman out on loan to a) regain his confidence after an incredibly tough first 18 months in Paris and b) try and get his value back up ahead of a potential sale this coming summer.

PSG paid a reported €80 million fee for Kolo Muani in the summer of 2023 after he scored 15 goals and recorded 11 assists at Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt. Since moving to PSG, that kind of form has not even come close to being replicated, with eight goals to his name over the course of 36 appearances in Ligue 1 over the last year and a half. This season, Kolo Muani has made just two starts and 10 appearances domestically, recording two goals and an assist.

Kolo Muani reportedly chose Juventus despite major interest from Premier League clubs Tottenham and Manchester United. It was thought that Juve wouldn't be able to meet the financial aspect of his large salary for the span of the loan deal, but he still chose to move to Turin for the next few months despite that potential speed bump in the deal.

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