Juventus join Barcelona, Arsenal and Tottenham in tracking Bournemouth’s record-breaking 20-year-old striker

Juventus are the latest of Europe’s giants to put themselves in the race for Eli Junior Kroupi, and they want everyone to know it.

The 20-year-old has spent most of this season recovering from foot surgery at Bournemouth, yet the list of admirers keeps getting longer. Barcelona were said to be watching closely at the start of October, Arsenal and Tottenham have both been linked, and now the Bianconeri have joined in.

According to TuttoJuve, the Turin club are tracking the forward closely and see him as one of the most exciting young prospects in the Premier League.

What do Juventus see in Kroupi?

Juventus are hunting for young forwards who offer quality now and long-term potential, and Eli Junior Kroupi ticks both boxes. He is one of the players whose performances in a Bournemouth shirt have caught their attention.

The big selling point is his versatility. Kroupi can lead the line as a centre-forward, play out wide or operate just behind the main striker, and that flexibility is exactly what makes him so attractive in Turin.

The reason is simple enough. Juventus are desperate for more unpredictability and cutting edge in the final third, and they believe a player who can pop up in three different positions gives them both.

Eli Junior Kroupi stats: a debut season nobody saw coming

Bournemouth paid FC Lorient just £10m for the Frenchman, and he repaid that fee many times over in his first year in England.

Under Andoni Iraola, now the head coach at Liverpool, Kroupi finished the campaign with 13 goals in 33 Premier League appearances. No teenager had ever scored more goals in his debut Premier League season.

Numbers like that do not stay quiet for long, and they have not. Most of Europe’s biggest clubs have been put in the picture at one point or another since.

Has Kroupi opened the door to a move?

He has not exactly closed it. Asked last month about the prospect of a big move in the future, Kroupi said: “I’m going to give everything to play for the biggest clubs in the world, in the best leagues in the world.”

That was taken as encouragement by the clubs already circling, and Juventus clearly do not want to be the ones left behind if he becomes available.

Why Bournemouth hold all the cards

Wanting him and getting him are two very different things. A pre-season foot injury needed surgery, and Kroupi has been working his way back ever since. He returned to team training at the end of October, but Bournemouth have already made it clear that no January offer will be entertained for him, whatever the bidder is willing to pay.

He is not even in their Europa League squad yet. Ben Gannon-Doak took his place under UEFA’s rule for players out injured for 60 days, and Marco Rose has said the swap back will only happen after Thursday night’s trip to Sparta Prague, so the end-of-month game at Celta Vigo is the earliest he could feature in Europe.

Bournemouth are also doing just fine without him. Rose’s side have won six in a row without conceding, with Evanilson leading the line as a real number nine, so there is no pressure on the Cherries to cash in on a player they have barely had available.

Verdict: Juventus will have to wait their turn

Juventus making noise now is about getting their name on the list, not about a deal in January. Bournemouth have a forward on his way back from surgery with a record-breaking season behind him, a squad that is winning without him and no reason to sell.

The real test comes when Kroupi is back scoring regularly. If he picks up where he left off, the queue will only get longer, and Bournemouth will be able to name their price. Until then, the Bianconeri are simply making sure they are in the room when the bidding starts.