Tottenham ready to outbid Arsenal for Bournemouth's Eli Junior Kroupi in £85m-plus pursuit

Tottenham are prepared to go all out to sign Bournemouth striker Eli Junior Kroupi this summer, with manager Roberto De Zerbi actively pushing the club to accelerate their pursuit of the 20-year-old ahead of rival interest from Arsenal and Barcelona, according to a report from Sport.

Kroupi enjoyed a breakthrough Premier League season in 2024-25, scoring 13 goals for Bournemouth and drawing attention from some of Europe’s biggest clubs — including both Champions League finalists, Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain. Barcelona have now entered the picture, viewing Kroupi as an alternative to Julian Alvarez after failing to land the Argentina forward, but Tottenham are reported to be the most committed suitor.

Spurs have already transformed their squad this summer after a season that flirted with relegation. Free transfers for Andy Robertson and Marcos Senesi were followed by the signings of Brighton defender Jan Paul van Hecke, West Ham midfielder Mateus Fernandes, and Newcastle’s Sandro Tonali in a club-record deal worth £100m in total — taking overall summer expenditure beyond £237m.

Despite that outlay, Tottenham are expected to push further still. Bournemouth, however, will not make Kroupi available cheaply. The south-coast club are said to want at least €100m (£85.5m) before they will consider any sale of a player who has become one of the most coveted young strikers in European football.

Arsenal are also monitoring the situation and could enter the race for a new centre-forward, though any move is likely to depend on whether they first sell another attacking player.

On the outgoing side, Tottenham have recouped funds by selling academy midfielder Alfie Devine to Preston North End for a fee worth around £6m — nearly three times Preston’s previous transfer record — following a successful loan spell at Deepdale last season.