If there is one area that Aston Villa have struggled with this season, it is consistently scoring goals. According to Sofascore, Unai Emery’s side have just 28 goals to their name in the top flight this term, placing them joint eighth.
This might be surprising given that they have Ollie Watkins and Jhon Duran in their squad. The strikers have eight and seven top-flight goals to their names this term, respectively. They have been wasteful with their big chances, missing 42, the second most in the top flight.
To supplement the goals from Watkins and Duran, the Villans have been linked with another attacker who could help increase their goal threat.
Aston Villa target attacking reinforcement
News broke on Thursday morning from The Athletic’s David Ornstein suggesting that Donyell Malen was a target for the Villans and that they were in talks with Borussia Dortmund regarding a move this month.
However, he’s not the only attacking player on the radar of those at Villa Park.
The player in question here is Paris Saint-Germain’s versatile attacker Randal Kolo Munai. The Frenchman has been out of favour at the Ligue 1 champions this term, and could now depart the club in January.
According to a report from French news outlet L’Equipe, the Villans are the latest club to show interest in signing the forward this winter. They are set to face competition from clubs in England and across Europe. Reports suggest Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United are showing interest, and AC Milan and Juventus are interested, whilst RB Leipzig and Bayern Munich also linked.
In terms of a price for the Frenchman, he is valued at a reported £50m by the French giants. That is far less than what they paid; Kolo Muani cost PSG £76.4m back in the summer of 2023. A loan with a buy clause would also be a deal accepted.
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Why Kolo Muani would be a good signing for Aston Villa
It has been a really slow season so far for France international Kolo Muani. The 26-year-old has played just 14 times in all competitions, scoring twice in Ligue 1. In total, he has featured for just 453 minutes, the equivalent to five full 90-minute games.
Although he is out of favour with PSG manager Luis Enrique this term, he has shown how deadly of an attacker he can be. The Frenchman’s record with his previous club Eintracht Frankfurt was excellent, scoring 26 goals and grabbing 17 assists in 50 games for the club. For context, that’s a far better rate than Malen’s 39 goals in 131 matches for Dortmund.
Interestingly, although he could come into Villa Park and offer competition to Duran, there is a chance the Columbian could depart.
He has been linked with several moves away from the club, including a report from Spain back in December which actually suggested there could actually be a swap of Duran and Kolo Muani.
It would certainly be hard to replace the Colombian, who has 20 goals in 75 games for the Midlands side so far. However, he has only played 2,205 minutes, which is the equivalent of 24.5 full 90 minutes.
With that being said, Kolo Muani could be the man to replace him. Not only has he shown what he can do at Eintracht Frankfurt, but he is statistically comparable to some of the best attackers in the world, including England star Harry Kane, as per FBRef.
The Bayern Munich star has an extraordinary 20 goals and nine assists in 20 games this season.
Indeed, when comparing the FBref stats of the three players, Kolo Muani certainly holds his own. The Frenchman averages 1.18 expected goals per game, compared to 0.89 xG for Kane and 0.72 xG for Duran.
Expected Goals (xG) is a metric designed to measure the probability of a shot resulting in a goal.
However, the PSG star offers far more than just goalscoring. He is a good creator too, as his 17 assists for Frankfurt showed. In fact, this term he averages 1.25 key passes per game, with the Bayern star averaging 1.72 and Villa’s number nine far less, with just 0.6.
Shots on target
1.51
1.46
2.24
Expected goals
1.18xG
0.89xG
0.72xG
Shot-creating actions
3.27
4.21
2.54
Goal-creating actions
0.75
1.12
0.15
Key passes
1.25
1.72
0.6
There are plenty of positives to Villa signing Kolo Muani. The Frenchman will add goals to their squad, in both a scoring and creating sense, and would certainly be able to help fill the void left by Duran if he was to depart.
It would be an exciting move for Villa if they signed the man who football scout Antonio Mango described as a “diamond”. The PSG ace would certainly help bolster Emery’s attack as he searches for more goals.
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