Premier League club slap €130 million price tag on Barcelona’s Julian Alvarez alternative

Premier League club slap €130 million price tag on Barcelona’s Julian Alvarez alternative As the Julian Alvarez saga continues to drag on, Barcelona are slowly looking out for other options in the market. In recent hours, Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that the Catalans are strongly exploring a move for Eli Junior Kroupi. The young forward has enjoyed tremendous success in the Premier League with Bournemouth and is widely seen as a potential alternative for Alvarez. Bournemouth’s hefty price tag for Kroupi However, signing Kroupi won’t be a walk in the park for Barcelona as Bournemouth are only selling the player if they receive a hefty offer. Kroupi enjoyed immense success in his first Premier League season. (Photo by Eddie Keogh/Getty Images) According to Gerard Romero , the Cherries have placed a €130 million price tag for Kroupi, if any interested party is keen on signing the player. That is a hefty amount for a player, who scored 13 goals in the Premier League last season and has yet to prove he can maintain his goalscoring record over multiple seasons. The Frenchman did score 22 goals in the season before at Lorient, which earned him a move to Bournemouth in the first place. Bournemouth’s hefty price is not surprising, though, as the club have proven themselves to be a shrewd negotiator. They sold Antoine Semenyo for €75 million last season and have sold defenders like Dean Huijsen and Ilya Zabarnyi for over €60 million each. What is Barcelona’s play here? Barcelona are expected to wait for Alvarez. (Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images) A price tag of €130 million would effectively rule Barcelona out of the race to sign Kroupi, especially given that the player has a contract at Bournemouth until 2030. The more prudent option, therefore, will be to wait and watch out the Alvarez saga unfolds in the coming weeks. It was reported earlier in the day that Alvarez is preparing to make his second attempt to force an exit out of Atletico Madrid. If that works out, Atleti could be forced to negotiate with the Catalans. But for now, Barcelona simply do not have the means to splurge in the market and will have to operate smartly. They must also try and keep hold of Ferran Torres at all costs, amid interest from PSG.