Roberto De Zerbi isn’t done spending. Not even close.
Tottenham Hotspur are scheduled to meet with representatives for Bournemouth striker Eli Junior Kroupi this week, according to reports, with the club pushing to land their third blockbuster signing of the summer. The 20-year-old French forward has already been told about Spurs’ interest, and he’s open to the move.
This one won’t come cheap. Bournemouth are asking for at least £90 million for a player who just finished his first Premier League season. Kroupi scored 13 goals for the Cherries after arriving from Lorient, and the club is in no mood to let him walk after just one year on the south coast. They’re treating him like a cornerstone piece, not a flip.
The spending spree that keeps going
Spurs have already wired £85 million to West Ham for midfielder Mateus Fernandes and agreed a club-record £100 million fee with Newcastle for Sandro Tonali. Adding Kroupi at around £90 million would push their summer outlay past a quarter of a billion pounds. That’s real ambition. That’s De Zerbi getting whatever he wants.
Kroupi fits the profile Spurs are chasing: young, versatile in attack, already proven in the league. He played across the front line for Bournemouth and gave defenders fits with his movement. At 20, he’s got room to grow, but he’s also ready to contribute now. Tottenham see him as the kind of player who can start immediately and still have a decade of peak years ahead.
Bournemouth’s position is clear
They don’t want to sell. They’ve made that part obvious. But every player has a number, and £90 million seems to be the floor. Whether any club actually pays that is the question. Spurs have shown they’re willing to write big checks this summer, but Kroupi’s camp still has to negotiate personal terms and convince Bournemouth to deal.
Preliminary conversations between Tottenham and the player’s people happened back in March. Those talks went well enough that both sides are now sitting down again with real momentum. Kroupi, a France Under-21 international, has reportedly given the green light on a potential switch to north London.
The next step is the hard part: convincing Bournemouth to take the money and move on. If Spurs pull it off, they’ll have added three major pieces before most of the league has finished its first round of summer business.
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