Spalletti needles Kolo Muani: 'There's a reason he hasn't played for two years'

Luciano Spalletti's competitive debut as Juventus coach brought three points but also his first public dig at the club's marquee summer signing, Randal Kolo Muani, whom he accused of arriving short of the levels required after two years without a settled run of football.

Juventus scraped past Frosinone 1-0 away in their Serie A 2026/27 opener on Sunday, with Gleison Bremer heading home the only goal from a Francisco Conceição corner. The Bianconeri dominated the ball, according to statistics cited in the Italian press putting their possession at 63 percent and their shot count at 20, but were repeatedly wasteful in front of goal.

Kolo Muani, restored to Turin this summer in a permanent deal from Paris Saint-Germain reportedly worth up to €50 million, started up front and wears the number 9 shirt left vacant by Dusan Vlahovic. He spurned a clear first-half opening and was unable to find the sharpness Spalletti wanted from him.

Speaking to DAZN after the final whistle, Spalletti did not hide his frustration with the Frenchman. ONE, citing the coach's comments, reported him saying: "We brought him here, pampered him, and we know his value, but he must understand he hasn't played for two years and there's a reason for that."

According to the same remarks, carried in similar form by Football Italia and Get Italian Football News, Spalletti credited Kolo Muani's ball retention, positioning and physical presence but insisted the striker still has ground to make up: "Sometimes you think you're at an exceptional level, but you've left something behind that you need to go and get back."

Kolo Muani spent the second half of the 2024/25 season on loan at Juventus, in one of the more productive spells of his recent career, before this summer's move was made permanent on a five-year contract. But he had fallen out of favour at PSG for long stretches beforehand, limiting his game time — the absence Spalletti was alluding to.

The coach's frustration was not reserved for his new striker alone. Reflecting on a display he felt lacked conviction despite the statistical dominance, Spalletti added: "At certain moments we want to become prisoners even when we're free" — a pointed message to a squad he wants to play with more freedom and less caution.

It was a mixed start to the Spalletti era at Juventus: a winning scoreline, but a performance and a post-match verdict that suggest plenty of work still lies ahead for both the team and its most expensive new recruit.