View: De Zerbi will never be able to improve Tottenham misfit, his future is already decided

Randal Kolo Muani is set to have familiar company almost every time he sits down at Tottenham Hotspur‘s training base over the coming weeks.

Roberto De Zerbi is refusing to give up on the on-loan striker, even if supporters have unanimously. There is no doubting the impact the new head coach has already made at the club, and he is determined to improve the fortunes of Kolo Muani too.

“I have to go every day for lunch with Kolo Muani this week, every day, breakfast, lunch and dinner, because he’s a top player, he has potential,” said De Zerbi after Spurs finally earned their first win of 2026 by beating Wolves last time out. “I want him to play better.”

Keen to breathe new life into Spurs’ survival fight, the Italian has also shown his players old highlights on YouTube during briefings. It was rather telling that he namedropped Kolo Muani again, using him as an example of an ace operating where he should flourish.

But after scoring one paltry goal in the Premier League this season, Kolo Muani has not impressed at Tottenham. With Dominic Solanke and Xavi Simons injured, though, the faltering frontman is likely to be handed more opportunities to save Spurs from relegation.

Roberto De Zerbi still backing Randal Kolo Muani

It often feels as though De Zerbi is Kolo Muani’s last remaining believer. Somehow, somewhere, he has seen enough to be confident that the 27-year-old can still come good. It must only be the faintest of sparks, but for this manager, that is all he needs to start.

Kolo Muani was handed his third consecutive start at Molineux last time out. The decision was a head-scratching one and made worse after he was hooked at half-time, having once again failed to show why he could be the answer to Spurs’ problems on the right wing.

“If I play with Kolo Muani as right winger, it’s because he has played in that position,” De Zerbi had said in the build-up. “If you go to YouTube, and you go to ‘Kolo Muani Eintracht Frankfurt’, you can see he played very well in that position.

“He scored a lot of goals in that position.”

It was a curious explanation on paper, but there was an obvious reason behind it. De Zerbi has sought from the very first minute to rebuild his squad’s shattered confidence, and this public backing could yet give Kolo Muani the boost he needs.

Clearly, he has never been a prolific goalscorer. After all, he scored a meagre total of eight goals in Ligue 1 after joining PSG for a whopping £76.4million back in 2023.

Born in the same Paris suburb where Kylian Mbappe was raised, he became lost in the lengthy shadow the superstar cast at the Parc des Princes. That resulted in him being shipped out on loan to both Juventus and Spurs in consecutive years.

He has arguably been one of Spurs’ biggest disappointments this campaign, such is the gulf between his potential and real-life output. There have been flashes – his brace against his parent club in the Champions League, for one – but not enough to win over supporters.

Kolo Muani has been accused of looking disinterested during matches, and he once again plodded around at a sluggish pace against already-relegated Wolves. He took just 34 touches, recorded only one shot, which was not on target, and didn’t create a single chance.

Damningly, he also completed 71 per cent of his passes while failing to find a team-mate with either of his two cross attempts. Just two of his touches came inside the Wolves box, demonstrating he was too easily marshalled, and he was dispossessed twice.

Having watched him win three of his seven ground duels, De Zerbi decided to take him off and replace him with Mathys Tel. Simply, Kolo Muani is not cutting it at Spurs, and it will come as no surprise if he is on the first flight back to Paris this summer.

Mathys Tel simply must play

The time has come for De Zerbi to weigh up starting Tel ahead of Kolo Muani for the remaining four league matches. The 21-year-old hasn’t exactly set the world alight since joining Spurs, but he has made more of a difference in comparison to most of his peers.

He has remained patient for long enough, and now must be rewarded. The injury to Solanke will likely give him more chances, having started just nine games to date this season. With three goals and one assist under his belt, his track record is more than reasonable.

Tel also promises to inject fresh energy into Spurs’ survival fight. His unpredictability has enabled him to catch the eye and could be crucial in helping to break down opponents. While his end product is questionable, the same can be levelled at Kolo Muani.

De Zerbi would therefore do well to thrust him back into the firing line.

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