This morning we got the official announcement that Tottenham Hotspur has purchased West Ham midfielder Mateus Fernandes for £85m. Yesterday came the announcement from various news sources that Spurs have agreed to purchase Sandro Tonali from Newcastle United for £92.5m. That’s a lot of spending.
So what’s next? Well, according to The Independent’s Miguel Delaney, Spurs are turning their attention to the offense, and specifically Bournemouth striker Eli Junior Kroupi.
Don’t know Kroupi? Get to know him, because he could be real, real good. The French teenager, in his first season in the Premier League, scored 13 goals for Bournemouth in just over 1600 minutes. That’s a year AFTER he scored 22 goals in Ligue 2 for Lorient, leading them to the Ligue 2 championship and a promotion back to the top flight. He’s already being tipped as a potential new star for the France national team, though he hasn’t yet been capped for the senior squad.
But as far as talent goes, Kroupi has it in buckets. At Bournemouth, he split his time between left sided attacking midfielder and striker, which is his natural position. It’s not clear where Tottenham would view his position, but that versatility would serve him well under Roberto De Zerbi.
Delaney says Kroupi is the top name on a three person shortlist of attackers that also includes Savinho and AC Milan. That right there is something of a weird distinction, because I’m not sure why you would classify Kroupi as an attacker and not just as a striker. But if De Zerbi thinks that he’d operate in the left attacker position and be our new goal scoring deep lying attacker, then hey. But it does feel a bit weird grouping him in with Savinho and Leao.
Delaney also says that Bournemouth could ask for as much as £80m to sign Kroupi; it’s not clear whether that would rule out the possibility of also signing Savinho or Leao. Savinho has been the subject of Spurs’ long term attention after having nearly signed him a year ago from Manchester City before City pulled the plug and he signed a new contract, and various sources have hinted that Spurs were working to sign him again as recent as a few weeks ago.
Eli Junior Kroupi is a hell of a player, Premier League tested, and only 19. He’d be a VERY exciting addition to this new-look Tottenham Hotspur team and is worth every penny of that £80m valuation. Having already revamped the defense and overhauled the midfield, Spurs are now turning their focus to the front, and Junior Kroupi would be a fantastic addition. If money isn’t real to Tottenham this summer (and by all accounts that sure seems to be the case) then I’m all for it. Go get him.
