Arsenal cannot allow Tottenham Hotspur to sign Eli Junior Kroupi after Bournemouth striker linked with switch
I can take Mateus Fernandes. I can take Sandro Tonali. I can even take Tottenham Hotspur spending more than £230million before July has truly started.
But if Spurs land Eli Junior Kroupi, that will be very hard, maybe impossible to take. Arsenal are known admirers of Kroupi and rightly so. The Frenchman had an excellent season, scoring 13 Premier League goals and has been rated at a reported £90million.
For comparison, the other centre-forward linked with Arsenal, Julian Alvarez, scored just eight league goals all of last season. The 20-year-old is one of the best talents in the league at the moment and can offer the likes of Arsenal, and sadly Spurs, plenty when it comes to attacking quality.
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The biggest obstacle for Arsenal in any deal has been threefold. Firstly, Bournemouth’s position is that the player is not for sale, but if he were, the price would be astronomical for a single season in the division.
Secondly, Arsenal have other areas that are great priorities, such as the left-hand side, central midfield, and full-back areas, and still have Gabriel Jesus at the club. His exit would help make room for Kroupi.
But this brings Arsenal’s third challenge. While Tottenham can offer Kroupi a starting role up top immediately, with Dominik Solanke his only opposition, Arsenal have both Kai Havertz and Viktor Gyokeres, whom the Frenchman would have to compete with, making it much tougher to make any guarantees about minutes.
It’s stunning when you consider that Arsenal were indeed crowned Premier League champions just over a month ago. The parade, the viral clips and the fanfare were generational.
But the transfer window can change moods in moments. But it’s important to take stock of what Arsenal have done and where they are in comparison to their rivals, and even if they were to land Kroupi, the catch-up game is not complete, it would only just be starting.
