Arsenal set to renew transfer interest in £86m striker in January window | Football

Arsenal will consider reigniting their interest in Bournemouth forward Eli Junior Kroupi when the January transfer window opens, according to reports.

Mikel Arteta’s side were keen to strengthen in forward areas throughout the summer window, but fell short in their pursuit of several key targets.

Morgan Rogers ultimately opted to join London rivals Chelsea, while Vinicius Junior instead chose to sign a new contract with Real Madrid.

The Gunners had also been holding out hope of a late deal for Atletico Madrid striker Julian Alvarez, but the Argentine indicated he wasn’t keen on a Premier League return.

Greek winger Christos Tzolis was the only attacking signing, arriving from Club Brugge for £34m, with Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard and Ethan Nwaneri all departing permanently or on loan.

Arsenal still have plenty of depth in forward areas, and will hope that key players such as Kai Havertz, Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka can remain fit after injury-affected campaigns last time out.

But The Independent reports that the Gunners could be willing to splash the cash in January to add more attacking firepower if need be.

And it is said that the defending champions will almost certainly make Bournemouth forward Kroupi a main target should they decide to dip back into the market.

The Frenchman became the first teenager to score 13 goals in their debut Premier League season after arriving from Bournemouth’s sister club Lorient for £12 million last summer.

Kroupi’s performances saw him attract interest from a host of clubs in the Premier League and around Europe, with reports earlier in the summer suggesting the Cherries would demand an €100m (£86.3m) fee for the 20-year-old.

Ultimately, Bournemouth did not have their resolve tested after Kroupi was ruled out for three to four months with a foot injury he sustained at Bournemouth’s pre-season training camp in Austria.

But speaking prior to his departure for Liverpool, former Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola urged Kroupi to resist the urge to quickly move away from the south coast.

‘He has become a much better player for me,’ Iraola said ‘I know he had a good start and scored goals but I try not to talk to him about goals because this is something which is natural and he will always have it.

‘So, I have tried to make him focus on other parts and he has improved a lot. In the past month, he has allowed us to put out a very offensive line-up because he is giving us the work rate so we can keep it all together and not suffer defensively too much.

‘He’s still very young and has just arrived into the Premier League and it’s his first season. For sure, I think he will play even more minutes next season and will continue evolving. He has a high ceiling but I think this is the best place for him to continue his evolution.’

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