Tottenham have been incredibly busy this summer, and Arsenal fans have mostly shrugged off their signings.
Sandro Tonali, a player Arsenal rejected over wages and agent fees, joined Spurs for £100million.
That was after Mateus Fernandes moved for £85million from a relegated West Ham.
Jan Paul van Hecke was signed from Brighton for £52million. Veteran left-back Andy Robertson also joined after leaving Liverpool.
None of those have caused genuine alarm in north London.
Eli Junior Kroupi is different.
👀 PROVE US WRONG: Eli Junior Kroupi immediately improves Arsenal’s attack…
⚽ The 19-year-old has 13 Premier League goals this season!
Arsenal were linked with Kroupi earlier in the window but interest has cooled, with Bournemouth’s £90million valuation and a lack of squad space being stumbling blocks.
PSG, previously the frontrunners, pivoted to Yan Diomande, and also now look set to sign Ferran Torres — who could have been a smart replacement for Leandro Trossard.
That has left the door open for Tottenham, who are now preparing an official bid and understand the player finds the move “hugely appealing”, according to TEAMtalk.
Losing out on Eli Junior Kroupi to Tottenham would be a huge mistake
Tottenham have been spending aggressively all summer, and as good as their signings are, they are players that Arsenal were right to pass up on.
Kroupi, though, is a generational talent.
At 20 years old, he is an extraordinary ball striker with huge potential, and the kind of player who could explode under Roberto De Zerbi.
He scored the goal at the Etihad that effectively handed Arsenal the Premier League title last season. Arsenal fans know exactly what he is capable of.
The transfer market has gone completely mad this summer, and £90million for a 20-year-old seems incredibly steep, but he might well be worth it.
If Tottenham get him and he fulfils his potential under De Zerbi, north London derbies aren’t going to be so easy anymore.
Why Arsenal cannot realistically move for Eli Junior Kroupi right now
The problem is Arsenal have no obvious squad space for a centre-forward or second striker profile.
Gabriel Jesus is expected to leave, but with Mikel Merino’s goalscoring exploits the Spaniard is surely seen as a genuine centre-forward option too at this point.
They would first have to move someone on that they probably aren’t planning to — Viktor Gyokeres, Kai Havertz, or potentially even Martin Odegaard.
A significant sale like that would enable them to go out and buy Kroupi, but it feels unrealistic, especially this early in the window.
But allowing Tottenham a free run at a player of this calibre could be one of Andrea Berta’s costly oversights this summer.
This might be an error Arsenal kick themselves about for years.
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