Barcelona’s transfer plans rocked as Bournemouth forward Kroupi ruled out for months

Barcelona’s bid to sign a new centre-forward has suffered a major setback after Bournemouth striker Eli Junior Kroupi was ruled out for up to four months with a foot injury.

The La Liga club have been searching for a replacement for Robert Lewandowski, who left Barcelona at the end of last season, and had identified Argentina international Julian Alvarez as a leading target earlier in the summer.

However, Atletico Madrid have refused to part with Alvarez, forcing Barcelona to assess alternative options. That search led them to Kroupi, the highly rated 20-year-old French forward who enjoyed a breakout season with Bournemouth in the Premier League.

Bournemouth were already reluctant to sell Kroupi during this window, and any prospect of a move has now been further complicated by his injury and lengthy recovery period.

Injury blow in pre-season camp

According to The Athletic, Kroupi sustained a foot injury during Bournemouth’s pre-season training camp in Austria in recent weeks. The striker subsequently returned to England to undergo medical tests.

Those examinations revealed the need for surgery, which the player underwent on Wednesday. The initial prognosis is that Kroupi will be sidelined for between three and four months.

That timetable means the forward is not expected to resume full training until October or November, ruling him out of a significant portion of the 2024-25 campaign and making any transfer this summer highly unlikely.

Breakthrough season at Bournemouth

Kroupi joined Bournemouth from Lorient last summer and quickly established himself as one of the most promising young attacking players in the Premier League.

In his debut season in England, he made 35 appearances in all competitions, scoring 13 goals. His contribution in front of goal was central to Bournemouth achieving a sixth-place finish in the Premier League, securing qualification for the Europa League.

That strong campaign under Spanish head coach Andoni Iraola significantly raised Kroupi’s profile across Europe and brought him to the attention of Barcelona’s recruitment department.

Bournemouth’s top-six finish also prompted change in the dugout. Iraola departed to join Liverpool and has been succeeded by German coach Marco Rose, who will now be without one of his key attacking options for the opening months of the season.

Barcelona face fresh complications in striker search

For Barcelona, Kroupi’s injury removes one of the leading names on their shortlist at a time when the club are under pressure to reshape their forward line following Lewandowski’s departure.

With Atletico Madrid unwilling to negotiate over Alvarez and Bournemouth having no intention of selling an injured player who will miss a large stretch of the coming season, the Catalan side must revisit their plans in the transfer market.

The combination of Kroupi’s lengthy lay-off and his importance to Bournemouth’s European campaign makes a move this summer increasingly improbable, leaving Barcelona still searching for a new focal point in attack as the start of the season approaches.