Barcelona ‘interested’ in Bournemouth starlet as big clubs circle

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The Football Faithful

·5 May 2026

Barcelona are reportedly interested in signing Bournemouth forward Eli Junior Kroupi in the summer transfer window.

The Cherries signed the 19-year-old from FC Lorient for a fee of around £12 million plus bonuses last summer.

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Kroupi has attracted numerous suitors after an impressive debut campaign in the Premier League, scoring 12 goals in 30 appearances.

Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United have all been linked with the teenager in recent months.

Barcelona have now seemingly entered the race for Kroupi, with Sky Sports reporting that he has been “tracked extensively” by the Catalan outfit.

Barça see the youngster as a “prospect for the long-term”, but Bournemouth are “not looking to sell” him in the next transfer window.

Former Barcelona striker Thierry Henry praised Kroupi while speaking on Sky Sports on Monday night.

“He has been proving that he’s a great goalscorer, very Jermain Defoe-like when he’s in the box,” he said.

“He can play on the right, on the left. He has an eye for a goal and a he has a good future.”