Tottenham Hotspur have been the Premier League’s most active side this summer.
Back-to-back 17th-place finishes scared the living daylights out of the north London side. That they needed a 1-0 win over Everton on the final day of the season to consolidate a top-flight spot is far from ideal.
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Spurs, though, are pushing to avoid another relegation scrap. Roberto De Zerbi came in and guided the club to safety. The Italian’s being back to the hilt in the market as a result.
Tottenham’s summer splurge
Andy Robertson brings experience and leadership to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Marcos Senesi and Jan Paul van Hecke are the line-breaking centre-backs that’ll improve Spurs in the build-up. Martin Dubravka is a solid backup for first choice shotstopper Antonin Kinsky. The Czech signed a new contract last month. Now first-choice, Guglielmo Vicario is free to move on.
Midfield was the next port of call. Spurs broke their transfer record with the signing of Mateus Fernandes last week. They trumped that with the addition of Sandro Tonali hours after England’s 3-2 World Cup win over Mexico.
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Now the defence and midfield are sorted, attention turns to the attack. Spurs can ill-afford to overlook the final third this summer. Indeed, they netted just 48 league goals last season. Richarlison was their top-scorer with 11 league goals in the 2025-26 campaign. The Brazilian is expected to leave this summer.
On-loan midfielder Joao Palhinha, scorer of the ever-important winner over Everton, ranked second, with five goals. The Portuguese star has since returned to Bayern Munich. Centre-backs Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven placed joint third with four goals, level with Mathys Tel. The issue is clear for all to see.
Attention turns to attack
And this free-spending Spurs side are expected to make their serious move for a forward before long. Eli Junior Kroupi is believed to top the wishlist if reports are to be believed. Kroupi’s agent, Moussa Sissoko – no, not that one – recently downplayed reports of an agreement in place between Spurs and the youngster.
“We are still discussing his future. We’ll see what happens in the coming days; at the moment there is no final decision,” he said. Bournemouth are keen to retain the youngster’s services and unsurprisingly so. The Frenchman scored 13 league goals last season. It’s a record for a teenager in their debut top-flight campaign. It’s hard to believe that Kroupi only turned 20 less than a month ago.
The Cherries won’t give Kroupi up easily, however. The 13 goals he scored was more than any other Bournemouth player. A conversion rate of 25% ranked third of the 141 players to muster at least 25 shots in England’s top tier last term. An Expected Goals overperformance of 4.08 was the biggest in the league. Without Kroupi’s goals, they wouldn’t have secured a first European finish in their history.
More to Kroupi’s game than goals
However, it wasn’t just Kroupi’s goals that attracted interest from Premier League rivals. There is more to his game than just putting the ball in the back of the net. While Kroupi failed to provide an assist, it wasn’t for want of trying, evident in the 1.2 chances created per 90 he managed.
Only Marcus Tavernier (26) won possession in the attacking third more times than Kroupi (20) of all Bournemouth players. The selflessness to his game was vital on the south coast. And it’s this variety to his attacking play that his significantly boosted the forward’s profile.
To some, he’s the archetypal ‘nine-and-a-half’ rather than an out-and-out number nine. He’s a forward who likes to drift between the lines in search of possession to link up the play rather than a striker who just comes alive in the box. What’s more, he’d be a fine fit under De Zerbi.
Frenchman should thrive in De Zerbi system
Kroupi’s intelligent movement combined with his effective finishing means he’d be a livewire in the opposition box. He drags opposition defenders out of position, making it awkward for centre-backs to keep track of the young forward.
With the speed down the flanks from Mohammed Kudus and an incoming left winger, Spurs can push forward at breakneck speed. They’ll blitz opponents more often than not. The centre-backs will bait the press before hitting the raking long balls for the speedsters to run onto. Whether they’re crosses into the box or pull backs for Kroupi, this approach should reap the rewards.
Spurs have splashed the cash and then some already this summer. They do, though, have sellable assets to help fund a Kroupi pursuit. Richarlison, Vicario, Romero and Pape Sarr are all up for grabs. Radu Dragusin and Alejo Veliz have left. Luka Vuskovic will join Brighton before long. Their exits will enable Spurs to continue their rebuild.
And Kroupi, despite his inexperience, could prove the perfect vocal point for his new-look Spurs.