Liverpool have been warned that not even an offer of €100m (£86.6m) would be sufficient to prise away one current Premier League striker from his current club.
It was recently reported that the Reds are among the prospective suitors for Eli Junior Kroupi, who’s enjoyed a terrific first season in English football with Bournemouth, but the Cherries are adamant that they won’t sell him for any price this summer.
A key figure from the Vitality Stadium has now emphatically told any interested parties that the 19-year-old isn’t for sale and not to waste their time submitting bids which’d be invariably rejected.
Bournemouth chief executive Tiago Pinto even namechecked Liverpool in his public hands-off message about the French teenager.
He told 365Scores (via Mundo Deportivo): “Junior Kroupi will not be leaving Bournemouth. His contract still has more than four years remaining, there is no release clause, and he’s not going anywhere.
“We will not sell Kroupi even if Barcelona or Liverpool offer €100m. That is completely out of the question.”
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The Cherries figurehead couldn’t have been clearer about his club’s stance on the teenage forward, who’s netted a dozen goals in his first Premier League season and has been a major contributor in his team’s improbable push for Champions League qualification.
Bournemouth attacker Marcus Tavernier has described the Frenchman as a ‘world-class’ talent (afcb.co.uk), and whilst he’ll obviously need to justify that billing over several years and not just one, the 19-year-old seems to have an incredibly high ceiling.
Pinto is understandably keen to hold onto the striker for as long as possible, although every footballer ultimately has their price, as illustrated by the south coast club selling one-time Liverpool target Antoine Semenyo to Manchester City for £64m in January (ESPN).
That came after the Ghana international had scored 30 Premier League goals in the space of three years, averaging slightly less than Kroupi thus far in the English top flight, but proving that he can consistently deliver over a longer period.
By that logic, £86m or more for the Bournemouth youngster would seem excessive, and the Reds could probably find better value in the market for another centre-forward, albeit that they’d be paying primarily for the Frenchman’s vast potential.
In any event, it’d seen that the Cherries aren’t for turning when it comes to their number 22, who mightn’t even have to leave his current club to be playing Champions League football next season.
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