Tottenham flop in 'crisis' after transfer as pressure builds on striker

Many left Tottenham Hotspur this summer, but one player who departed the club has been struggling to find his form at his new team

Former Tottenham Hotspur forward Randal Kolo Muani is in the middle of a 'two-sided crisis' at new club Juventus. The Frenchman joined Spurs last season on loan from Paris Saint-Germain, but struggled in north London.

At the time, the deal for the World Cup finalist looked like a masterstroke, after scoring eight goals in 16 Serie A games for the Italian heavyweights the season before. In the Champions League, the Frenchman was impressive for Spurs, contributing four goals and two assists in nine appearances.

But he never looked comfortable in the Premier League, and departed at the end of his loan this summer, having only recorded one goal and one assist in 30 appearances. With memories of his great form fresh in their mind, Juventus signed him this summer on a permanent deal from PSG.

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Unfortunately for him, his struggles at Tottenham have followed him to Turin. Italian media noted that Juventus manager Luciano Spalletti was seen "seizing every stoppage in play" to bellow instructions at the forward.

They also described him as being in the middle of a 'two-way crisis,' referring to the fact Spalletti has been trying to use him as a target-man forward, when he prefers to run into the space in behind, and that he's operating with a visible lack of confidence.

It was also claimed by outlets in the country that he is experiencing "physical and mental" struggles as part of a "nuanced and complex" issue he is enduring. His physicality was also blasted by media outlets in the country, particularly when it came to his duels with opposition defenders.

The biggest positive for him is that Spalletti is determined to help the forward, having advocated to sign him this summer. The Serie A-winning manager, who also saw Newcastle United forward Nick Woltemade arrive in the summer, said: "I don’t know if it can become a problem.

"But Woltemade has that structure there and he’s strong in his head, you can go and use it. Kolo Muani? I’m on that wagon and I’ll stay, see where I take us.

"I jump on the bandwagon when I choose him as a striker, now I stay there until the end of the championship. We’ll see where it takes us.”

Spalletti criticised the forward after he missed many chances in last weekend's 1-1 home draw against AC Milan. After the match, the ex-Italy manager said: "Sometimes you think you’re at an exceptional level and then you’ve left something aside, which you have to go and get back.

"Today we saw that he can keep the ball, he can get into space, he’s physically strong: but then these are games where he needs to score, because the spaces were all in his favour.”

Kolo Muani, when asked by reporters about his manager's comments after the draw with Milan, replied: "Spalletti is right, when we create so many opportunities, we also have to be able to convert them: and after that match, I knew first-hand that they had the right chances."