Arsenal retain interest in Kroupi as forward pushes hard to return from injury

Arsenal remain interested in adding another attacker in the January window, and have Eli Junior Kroupi on their radar, reports The Sun.

The Gunners pushed for multiple forwards in the summer after adding Christos Tzolis, but ended only with the Greek. They looked at huge names such as Vinicius Junior and Julian Alvarez.

But the former was convinced to remain at Real Madrid, while Alvarez had his eyes so firmly fixed on a Barcelona move that was never going to happen that he never opened the door to another side.

Kroupi was also on their radar, but his injury over the summer meant a deal was not going to be possible.

But it's said Arsenal remain interested in adding another forward to their front line in January, and they retain interest in Kroupi, who fits their profile, with pace, an eye for goal, and as a young player.

The Bournemouth striker - who scored 13 goals in his debut Premier League season - is a target not only for Arsenal, but European champions Paris Saint-Germain in his native France.

Eli Junior Kroupi to return soon

When he was injured in pre-season, it was said Kroupi was likely to spend three to four months sidelined.

He had surgery to fix a foot issue, and is said to have spent the last two months working hard to make his return to action.

He's said to be working overtime to return to full fitness within the next four weeks.

Indeed, Kroupi is making significant progress and is targeting a return to full fitness by the first week of November.

That could give him a full couple of months to impress before the January window opens and clubs potentially look to prise him away from Bournemouth.

The Cherries' stance in the summer - when there was a strong sense within Kroupi's camp that a move would come to fruition before his injury - was that they'd only sell their striker for a club record fee.

That would be above £65million, with both Antoine Semenyo and Dominic Solanke moving for total packages of around that fee.

It is therefore likely that Bournemouth would again demand those sorts of fees to sell Kroupi, especially with the knowledge that the two clubs courting him were the Champions League finalists last season.