Two years ago Tottenham Hotspur broke their transfer record to sign Harry Kane’s replacement.
The chosen man was Dominic Solanke, signed from Bournemouth in a mega £65m transfer. Since then, however, the jury remains out on the former Chelsea and Liverpool man.
Is Solanke the striker who will carry this Spurs team forward? Undoubtedly not. The Lilywhites need a fresh batch of exciting talent with Roberto De Zerbi in charge.
As it turns out, De Zerbi has confirmed that Solanke is no longer on the record for a purchase. That honor now goes to £100m man Sandro Tonali.
A total of £185m has been spent on Italy and Mateus Fernandes but they are not finished there. They look set to raid Solanke’s employers for the second time this summer after the arrival of Marcos Senesi last month.
Spurs are looking forward to the Premier League
It’s safe to say that De Zerbi’s side have enjoyed an impressive start to the summer and it would be great if they could add to their forward line.
In attack, several players have been linked, the most exciting of which is undoubtedly winger Rafael Leao.
The goalscorer of Portugal’s prolific World Cup strike this summer, Leao has become one of Europe’s most dangerous players in recent years, scoring twice in the past five seasons.
Other young players like Cody Gakpo and Savinho continue to be linked but the AC Milan star feels like the best option here, especially since hs wants to leave Italy.
Playing alongside Leao in attack next season could be Bournemouth’s Eli Junior Kroupi. Tottenham’s interest in the Cherries striker first emerged last week and since then, an update has been provided courtesy of talkSPORT’s Alex Crook.
Speaking in a YouTube video at the weekend, the journalist said: “Junior Kroupi has had a good campaign and has many nurses. Arsenal are among them.”
Crook continued: “Tottenham are preparing an £85m bid to test Bournemouth’s willingness but they are not selling. That is the message from the Vitality Stadium.”
How does Junior Kroupi compare to Dominic Solanke
With Solanke also from Bournemouth, there may be fears that Spurs are simply putting together a repeat of the central signing here. However, that would be lazy. Kroupi is a lot of fun.
To say that Solanke is overwhelmed by the Tottenham jersey would be an understatement. While the 28-year-old scored 16 goals during his first campaign in north London, he had a season to forget in 2025/26 as he struggled not just for fitness but form.
He played only 20 times and scored six goals. The striker has missed 30 games, mostly due to an ankle problem that has plagued him since the start of the campaign.
Based on that, it may be difficult to fully judge him but the reality is that his performance was very one-sided.
Kroupi, however, would bring an extra dose of excitement and extra energy to a Spurs squad that could be thought of as missing since the departure of the likes of Heung-min Son and Harry Kane.
Why? Well, this is one of the best young strikers in Europe right now. As Daniel Sturridge put it, the 19-year-old is already “one of the best finishers in the Premier League.”
Kroupi scored 13 times last term, the most goals scored by any youngster in his first Premier League season. He is still making history even though he is young.
So what makes him different from Solanke?
|
Kroupi vs Solanke: 25/26 league statistics |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Mathematics (in 90 minutes) |
Kroupi |
All of us |
|
Non-penalty goals |
0.59 |
0.27 |
|
Shots |
2.78 |
1.80 |
|
Involvement of great opportunities |
0.70 |
0.54 |
|
Shot-ending carries |
0.64 |
0.36 |
|
Successful dribbles |
0.80 |
1.17 |
|
Anticipated threat (construction) |
0.39 |
0.22 |
|
Continuous actions |
2.51 |
1.35 |
|
Won ground duels |
0.29 |
0.95 |
A versatile threat who can play as a centre-forward, second striker or out wide, he is more powerful than Solanke and in De Zerbi’s system, he is much improved in possession.
Solanke comes out on top in terms of duel wins which is no surprise given his build, but the younger Kroupi is better in all other situations. He registers more shooting carries, is involved in big chances and his perceived threat in the build-up stages is very good.
Expected Threat (xT) is a metric that measures how much a player’s actions (such as a pass or carry) increase their team’s scoring chances.
This is a versatile striker and still young, he could be one of the best players in Europe before long.
Another wish for Arsenal this summer, would be a coup if they could get this deal over the line.
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