Tottenham unwilling to let huge flop leave before January transfer deadline

From dead leg to disinterested, Randal Kolo Muani's loan spell at Tottenham Hotspur has so far been a sorry tale.

The club turned to the Paris Saint-Germain forward late in the summer window after Juventus, who'd signed him for the second half of last season but were unable to strike another deal with the Parisians, missed out.

Kolo Muani enjoyed himself in Turin, and, given his experience at the highest level, appeared a more than useful temporary addition for the striker-needy Lilywhites as a result of Dominic Solanke's ankle problem.

It looked like the French international was getting up to speed after a slow start due to the aforementioned dead leg, but Kolo Muani, over the past few weeks, has cut a desolate figure boasting little interest in helping out a struggling side. Now, there's talk of him leaving the club before the January transfer deadline.

Kolo Muani is one to watch as January transfer deadline nears

While Kolo Muani's time in north London means Juventus aren't exactly rueing their error from the summer, but the Old Lady, now purring under Luciano Spalletti, remain keen on reuniting with their former loanee.

According to Fabrizio Romano, Juve have made calls over the past 48 hours for Kolo Muani, having failed to land Moroccan international Youssef En-Nesyri to bolster their frontline.

Despite signing Jonathan David and Loïs Openda in the summer, the Bianconeri are in the market for a centre-forward before the deadline as a result of the injury sustained to Dušan Vlahović in November, which will keep him sidelined until March. Kolo Muani could provide short-term relief in an environment where he's previously impressed.

The Frenchman scored ten times in 19 Juve appearances last season, but has just two goals in 23 games for Spurs in all competitions. Both of those goals came against parent club PSG, when he was particularly keen to prove a point. He's yet to score a Premier League goal.

While Kolo Muani is merely another to suffer under Thomas Frank and hasn't been helped by playing down the right in a few recent appearances, his overall demeanour has seen him castigated by supporters. It's clear that the 27-year-old has no interest in sticking around, but due to a lack of alternatives in attack, Tottenham are, at this stage, unwilling to cancel the forward's loan.

If Kolo Muani were to leave, Frank would have Mathys Tel, Solanke and Wilson Odobert as his only fit options for three roles in attack. I'm not counting Djed Spence because he made a poor full-back in Yan Couto look a bit silly for 45 minutes. Letting him go without bringing anyone in doesn't make all that much sense, but then again, Kolo Muani has been close to useless over the past month or so.

Tellingly, he wasn't used at all as we chased the game late at Burnley. Dane Scarlett got the nod instead.