Kolo Muani’s former manager has already told Thomas Frank his best position at Tottenham

Thomas Frank may already have a formula to find Randal Kolo Muani’s best form at Tottenham.

Tottenham announced Kolo Muani will be joining on loan after signing him during the final hours of the summer window.

This comes after Tottenham striker Dominic Solanke suffered an injury and will be sidelined for an extended period. The Lilywhites also wanted to sign a winger and a centre-back, but Kolo Muani ended up being their final signing.

With a long season ahead and everything to play for, Frank will be hoping he gets it right with the French striker.

Tottenham manager Thomas Frank smiles
Credit: Imago

Oliver Glasner reveals Randal Kolo Muani is not a typical striker

Richarlison has looked like a new player under Frank these past couple of weeks.

The Brazilian was linked with a departure this summer after countless injuries kept him from the pitch last season.

There were suggestions that Kolo Muani could play on the wings if he arrived in North London. However, in an interview with L’Equipe on 3 October 2023, Oliver Glasner, who coached the Frenchman at Frankfurt, believes he’s best used as a dynamic centre-forward.

He said: “For me, he’s not a winger. The typical winger is Ousmane Dembele. I needed to see a Randal Kolo Muani who scored goals, and on one side, he made a lot of assists, but he scored too few.

“So, he had to be in the centre. But you can’t ask him to be static. That’s not how I think he’s best. He’s not a physical striker like Olivier Giroud, for example; he needs to use his speed. He’s very intelligent in his movements, and he also improved a lot with his left foot last season.”

As a result, both he and Richarlison could be fighting to impress Frank enough to nail down that centre-forward position.

Randal Kolo Muani will need to combine with his teammates

Kolo Muani could be an excellent investment for Tottenham, but he will need his teammates’ support to meet standards.

Glasner added: “Of course (he’s faced low blocks in Bundesliga). In the Bundesliga, there were certain games where we came up against 11 defenders! I don’t get the feeling that that bothered Randal. He is a good player with his head as well, so he can meet crosses, but he needs to arrive with momentum.

“If you leave him to battle like a pivot, he will find it more difficult to come out of the duel. I remember Champions League matches, against Tottenham for example, where he struggled to win the duel, and we saw that it was more difficult one-versus-one.

“Randal is an attacker who needs support. He can’t be isolated, otherwise, he can’t combine with the other players and use his speed.”

As a result, the most important thing for Frank will be to structure his team so that Kolo Muani is given space to run into.

Accurate long balls1.25 per 90
Long ball accuracy75%
Chances created1.07 per 90
Successful crosses0.73 per 90
Cross accuracy 25.9%
Mohammed Kudus’ creative stats last season [FotMob]

Kudus is an excellent crosser of the ball and has already assisted Richarlison twice in doing so. This could be to the benefit of Muani, while Brennan Johnson can make parallel runs to attract defenders and free up space in the centre.

Through quick combinations and attentive off-the-ball movements from his teammates, Kolo Muani could soon become an indisputable starter for Tottenham.

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