Arsenal face competition from PSG and Barcelona for Bournemouth forward
Arsenal's interest in Eli Junior Kroupi is far from secret, but landing the Bournemouth forward is shaping up to be a difficult task. According to football.london, the Gunners are monitoring the 20 year old's return from injury, though they face serious competition from some of Europe's biggest clubs.
Kroupi has only just come back from a significant foot injury that kept him out for the opening two months plus of the season. He marked his return off the bench against Leeds United with a no look assist for Bournemouth's second goal, helping Marco Rose's side pick up three points after a difficult start to the campaign.
The Friday Injury Tracker
Who's out, who's back and what it means for the next two games.
Why Arsenal need attacking reinforcements
Arsenal head into the winter window short of attacking options after a summer that saw Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus all depart, while Ethan Nwaneri left on a loan deal. Christos Tzolis was the only forward brought in, and even he has had to battle back from a hamstring issue before featuring in the win over Liverpool.
The situation has been made more difficult by Bukayo Saka's quadriceps injury, which has ruled him out for the foreseeable future. A forward line that looked to be taking shape in early August now appears weaker than it did at the start of the season, with the club having failed to land the marquee attacking signing many expected.
Bournemouth holding firm on Kroupi
Arsenal were first linked with Kroupi earlier in the summer, as football.london reported at the time, but his injury put any potential move on hold. Bournemouth's stance on the forward remains firm, insisting he is not for sale, a contrast to their shifting position on Alex Scott, for whom the south coast club are said to be seeking a fee in the tens of millions.
Complicating matters further for Arsenal is renewed interest from Paris Saint-Germain, who turned away from a move for Kroupi in the summer following the departure of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia but have since reignited their pursuit. Barcelona and Bayern Munich are also understood to be keeping tabs on the young Frenchman.
With PSG able to offer financial terms that could prove difficult for Bournemouth to turn down, Arsenal may find themselves priced out of a deal unless they are willing to match that level of spending. Even so, there is a belief that Arsenal will push to strengthen their attacking options this winter regardless of how the Kroupi situation develops.
