Barcelona Expands No.9 Search Amid Álvarez Negotiation Delays
Barcelona’s hunt for a new No.9 is starting to look like a high‑stakes game of musical chairs — and Eli Junior Kroupi has just been invited into the circle.
The Spanish champions, fresh from landing Anthony Gordon and Karim Adeyemi, are now working through the hardest part of their attacking rebuild: replacing Robert Lewandowski. The Pole has departed for Chicago Fire, ripping out the reference point of Hansi Flick’s forward line and leaving a sizeable void at the tip of Barça’s attack.
Julián Álvarez remains the name circled in red at the top of their shortlist. Joan Laporta has already gone public: Barcelona have made an offer for the Atlético Madrid striker. Álvarez himself told ESPN in June that he wants to leave Atleti, but the first bid from Barça went nowhere. Atlético turned it down, and Laporta has been clear that the proposal will not stay open forever. The offer is on the table, not carved in stone.
So Barça are doing what big clubs must do in a tight market: working on parallel tracks. As negotiations around Álvarez stall, club sources say they have sounded out Bournemouth over the availability of Kroupi, one of the most intriguing young forwards in the Premier League.
The 20‑year‑old France U21 international has quickly become a prized asset. Bournemouth only signed him last summer from Lorient for around €15 million, but his first season in England — 13 goals in 35 appearances — has dramatically shifted his valuation. Reports across Europe suggest the south‑coast club, in no rush to sell, would demand upwards of €100 million to even consider a deal.
That price tag underlines both Bournemouth’s reluctance and Kroupi’s rise. One year ago he was a promising Ligue 1 talent; now he is being discussed in the same breath as Barcelona’s next No.9.
For Flick, this is about more than simply replacing Lewandowski’s goals. The German coach, heading into his third season at Camp Nou, wants to reshape the entire dynamic of his front line after back‑to‑back LaLiga titles and repeated frustration in the Champions League. Gordon has arrived from Newcastle United to add direct running and aggression on the left. Adeyemi, signed from Borussia Dortmund, brings pace and chaos between the lines.
Those additions come against a backdrop of churn. Lewandowski has gone to MLS. Marcus Rashford has returned to Manchester United at the end of his loan spell. Ferran Torres, the man who scored Spain’s winning goal in the World Cup final against Argentina, faces an uncertain future as Barça weigh up their options and their finances.
The next move at centre‑forward will define this rebuild. Land Álvarez, and Barcelona get a ready‑made, top‑level striker who knows LaLiga and can lead a title defence immediately. Push hard for Kroupi, and they bet on potential, on a 20‑year‑old whose ceiling looks high but whose experience at the very top remains limited.
Laporta has left the door ajar for Atlético to change their mind. Until that happens, Barcelona’s calls to Bournemouth tell their own story: the champions are not prepared to wait forever for their No.9.
