Tottenham Hotspur may face intense competition for Eli Junior Kroupi in the winter if they reignite their interest in the Bournemouth star.
Spurs had an extremely busy summer window, bringing 10 new players through the door, many of whom were Roberto De Zerbi’s top targets.
| Incomings | |
| Andrew Robertson | Free |
| Marcos Senesi | Free |
| Martin Dubravka | Free |
| Jan Paul van Hecke | £52m |
| Mateus Fernandes | £85m |
| Sandro Tonali | £100m |
| Savinho | £85m |
| Omar Marmoush | £60m |
| Tosin Adarabioyo | £12m |
| Mykhailo Mudryk | Loan |
| Total spent | £394m |
| Outgoings | |
| Luka Vuskovic | £50m |
| Will Lankshear | £20m |
| Radu Dragusin | £21m |
| Alejo Veliz | £7.7m |
| Alfie Devine | £6m |
| Tynan Thompson | £8m |
| Manor Solomon | £7m |
| Cristian Romero | £34.1m |
| Ashley Phillips | £20m |
| Djed Spence | £30m |
| Kevin Danso | £25m |
| Pape Matar Sarr | £25.6m |
| Total received | £254.8m |
| Tottenham’s net spend | £139.2m |
However, they did miss out on their top striker target due to circumstances beyond their control. It was widely reported that Kroupi was near the top of Tottenham’s wishlist, until he suffered a major injury setback.
In fact, TEAMtalk even claimed Spurs were 24 hours away from launching an offer of over £80m for the 20-year-old before he sustained a broken foot, and added that the Lilywhites could revisit the deal in January.
Tottenham could face competition from Arsenal for Eli Junior Kroupi
At the start of this month, CaughtOffside revealed that Arsenal are also big fans of the Spurs striker target, and could launch a move of their own for the Bournemouth man in January.
This has now been backed up by Football.London’s Arsenal correspondent Tom Canton, who revealed that Kroupi has been on the Gunners’ radar since the summer, and the Gunners could pivot to the Frenchman instead of waiting for Julian Alvarez.
Canton wrote in Football.London: “Arsenal haven’t made a major signing in January for quite a while. Depending upon Junior Kroupi and his potential availability in January is one to keep an eye on.
“We reported at the start of the summer that Arsenal had a genuine interest in him and had he not got that injury, I would have been intrigued to see if Arsenal would have played a stronger card at the end of this window, rather than waiting on the [Julian] Alvarez situation to see if that was going to change. Interest is very real.”
How much are Bournemouth expected to demand for Kroupi?
According to a recent update from Football Insider, the Cherries are expected to demand £80m for Kroupi in January, which was the same valuation they quoted to interested clubs in the summer.
The outlet claimed that the Gunners were leading Spurs in the race for the 20-year-old due to their willingness to spend big on the youngster.
However, the publication also added that prising Kroupi away from the Vitality Stadium mid-season may prove difficult and that interested clubs may have to wait until next summer.