Exclusive: Chelsea told €100m ace could be ‘the solution’ as agent change may facilitate exit

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Randal Kolo Muani could depart the Bundesliga in the summer, following a change of agency, amid alleged interest from Chelsea and Manchester United.

ESPN (via Metro) have previously reported links between the pair of Premier League outfits and the Frenchman, though the forward will set back any interested party in the region of €100m.

In light of the Blues’ ongoing struggles in front of goal, however, it’s a fee Graham Potter’s men may be prepared to fork out.

“Before, there was a clear shared idea held between Frankfurt and Randal Kolo Muani’s agency that he’d be best-suited to stay one year more until 2024,” Christian Falk exclusively revealed in his latest column for CaughtOffside.

“But now this situation has changed. He’s got a new agent having switched from MDC to Moussa Sissoko (who’s quite famous in Germany for having arranged the transfer of Ousmane Dembélé). Everyone knows what will happen, I’m not sure that Muani will strike to force a move but they’re really pushing for a transfer and Frankfurt is aware of it.

“They’re no longer saying he’s not for sale but the question remains as to whether English clubs will be put off by the asking price. They’ll have to pay a lot of money – Frankfurt are hoping for a record fee and have set a benchmark of €100m. If you go back to Barcelona’s move for Dembele, they ended up paying a huge amount of money for him, so it’s worth keeping in mind.

“So, the market for Muani is open and many clubs are certainly interested in the striker. Bayern Munich are still out of the race – they profiled him and decided he didn’t fit their possession-based system – but he could be better suited for sides like Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United.

“I’m not sure if Liverpool have the money for Muani, United are doing a lot of strange things with strikers at the moment and Chelsea keep reinforcing their midfield. When you see what Bayern Munich are doing on the market, they’re always plugging specific gaps in their squad. Chelsea aren’t doing that and they need a striker; perhaps Muani is the solution.”

It’s highly unlikely that Liverpool will be involved in any race for the 24-year-old’s signature this summer given their clear need for midfield reinforcements (including Borussia Dortmund’s high value starlet Jude Bellingham).

MORE: Exclusive: Christian Falk reveals how Bayern Munich could prevent Pavard switch to Barcelona

The Frankfurt star has enjoyed a particularly prolific 2022/23 campaign, amassing 28 goal contributions in 29 games (across all competitions) this term.

It’s fair to suggest that there will be a considerable amount of interest in Muani this summer as a result, though the benchmark the German outfit has set could prove prohibitive.

UEFA’s response to Chelsea’s circumventing of Financial Fair Play likewise may restrict their ability to secure the forward’s signature.

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