On-loan France striker Randal Kolo Muani said he would like to stay at Juventus next season after a Man of the Match performance for the Italian team in their impressive Club World Cup opener.
Kolo Muani, who arrived at the club from Paris Saint Germain on a short-term deal in January, scored two goals as Juventus hammered Al-Ain 5-0 on Wednesday, taking his tally to five goals in his last six matches for the Italian club.
“Honestly, I feel very good here,” the 26-year-old told Mediaset after the Group G match in Washington D.C.
“I can play well and score goals. I am happy, I hope to stay.”
General manager Damien Comolli told reporters last week that Juventus had discussed another loan with PSG when negotiating an extension to Kolo Muani’s existing deal for the Club World Cup.
“I’m optimistic that we can come to an agreement with PSG regarding a loan for the entire 25-26 season,” he said.
“Paris Saint Germain have certainly not closed the door to a loan, and they know the player wants to stay with us.”
Juventus coach Igor Tudor’s optimistic response to Wednesday’s victory might have been tempered by the knowledge that the two best performers in the game are only at the club on deals which expire after the tournament.
Portuguese winger Francisco Conceicao, who is on loan from Porto, also grabbed a brace of goals after terrorising the Al-Ain defence from both flanks at Audi Field.
Tudor has used the 22-year-old sparingly since taking over from Thiago Motta in March, suggesting Juventus might not be ready to trigger the 30 million euros ($34.57 million) buyout clause in his contract and keep him in Turin.
In the short term, however, Tudor has both players at his disposal for the Club World Cup, which continues for Juventus with games against Wydad Casablanca on Sunday and Manchester City next Thursday.
Kolo Muani for one is certainly buying into the Croatian’s programme.
“He trusts me, he wants to attack and he wants to keep the defence strong,” he told the post-match press conference.
“I’m very happy to play with my teammates, we are very happy and we play very strong.”
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