PSG move ahead of Barcelona in race to sign Premier League forward | OneFootball

Barcelona may still be targeting Julian Alvarez, but given that Atletico Madrid may not sell, they have drawn up alternative targets. One of those is Eli Junior Kroupi, who is off the back of a very impressive first season in the Premier League with AFC Bournemouth.

Last week, it was reported that Barcelona were ready to move for Kroupi in the event that Atleti definitely shut the door on a deal for Alvarez. Bournemouth do not want to sell the 20-year-old striker, but if the money is right, they could be prepared to part ways with him.

Unfortunately for Barcelona, they are about to be left behind in the race for Kroupi. As per TEAMtalk, Paris Saint-Germain are already making moves towards signing him, as they seek to secure a replacement for AC Milan-bound Goncalo Ramos.

PSG have Kroupi as their preferred target to replace Ramos, and given that he would almost certainly welcome a return to France with the back-to-back European champions, Barcelona will surely miss their chance to sign him if they do not make a move soon.

Barcelona still firmly focusing on Alvarez

And Barcelona are prepared to let Kroupi slip away, as they are not pivoting from their plans to sign Alvarez. The Argentine publicly expressed his desire to leave Atleti last week, and that has given the Catalans increased hope that a deal can be done later in the summer, with plans already in place for a second bid to be submitted after the 2026 World Cup comes to an end.

Barcelona are putting all of their eggs in one basket when it comes to their striker search, with Alvarez being the only serious candidate being worked on at this stage. It remains to be seen whether they regret that, as they would require Atleti to soften their stance in order to be successful.