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Man City are trying to head off competition from Arsenal and other Premier League clubs in the battle for Bournemouth forward Junior Kroupi, according to reports.
TEAMtalk claim that Director of Football Hugo Viana is trying to steal a march on City’s rivals by “holding talks” with the 19-year-old’s representatives.
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Kroupi broke the Premier League record for the most goals scored by a teenager this season, scoring 13 in total.
One of those strikes ended City’s hopes of winning the title when he bagged the opener for Bournemouth during the 1-1 draw against Pep Guardiola’s side earlier this month.
Kroupi has a whole host of suitors
The Guardian reported last week that Arsenal were keen on recruiting the Frenchman, but the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool are also keeping track of his progress.
Teams abroad, including Barcelona, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Atalanta, are huge fans of Kroupi as well.
However, the big issue for City and every other club interested in the striker will be persuading Bournemouth to let him go.
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Man City would have to pay a lot to sign him
Bournemouth are said have slapped an £80m asking price on Kroupi, which seems excessive for someone who only has one season of Premier League experience under his belt.
However, the high valuation is clearly designed to put off City and others from making an offer this summer.
The Cherries are said to be determined to keep hold of Kroupi for at least another year. They originally recruited him from Lorient for £10m at the start of 2025, but he stayed on loan with the French club until last summer.
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