Barcelona told they must pay €100m for Julian Alvarez alternative | OneFootball

Barcelona are in the market for a new striker, and while Julian Alvarez is their top target, there is no guarantee that Atletico Madrid will sell to a direct rival. If it turns out that the Riyadh Air Metropolitano club does not cave, the Catalans would be required to look elsewhere in their efforts to replace Robert Lewandowski.

For now, Barcelona are still very confident that Alvarez can, and will, be signed, but that has not stopped them from considering alternatives. Harry Kane is one, although that option has already been discarded due to the England international preferring to remain at Bayern Munich. However, they could have more luck with Eli Junior Kroupi, who is also being followed by sporting director Deco.

Kroupi had an impressive first season in the Premier League with AFC Bournemouth during the 2025-26 campaign, and while he has alerted Barcelona, several other clubs are also vying to sign him. As per Sport, Paris Saint-Germain and Tottenham Hotspur are both moving to close a deal as soon as possible, and they are each prepared to table an offer of €100m.

Barcelona have reservations about reaching €100m for Kroupi

€100m will be the absolute minimum that Bournemouth sell Kroupi for, and this is bad news for Barcelona. As things stand, they are not willing to come close to paying this amount for a player with only one season of top-level football experience, meaning that they can be counted out of the race at this stage.

However, Barcelona could re-evaluate their stance if the Alvarez deal fails. They are willing to pay around €130m for the Atleti striker, but that money will be burning a hole in their pocket if a deal does not come to fruition – and rather than keeping it in the bank, they could put it towards signing Kroupi.