Tottenham Hotspur have long been associated with elite Premier League strikers, from Jermain Defoe and Robbie Keane through to the incomparable Harry Kane.
Since Kane’s departure in 2023, however, the club has struggled badly to replace that goalscoring quality at N17.
It took a full year after Kane’s exit for a genuine replacement to arrive, with Dominic Solanke joining for a then club-record £65m from Bournemouth in 2024.
Solanke arrived fresh from scoring 19 Premier League goals at the Vitality Stadium, making the deal look like a genuine statement of intent from Spurs.
His Premier League record before that Bournemouth season told a different story, however, with the striker never previously scoring more than six top-flight goals in a single campaign.
After nine league goals in 2024/25 and just three in 2025/26, a season ravaged by injury that yielded only 11 starts, patience at the club appears to have run out.
Set to turn 29 in September, Solanke is not exactly a long-term project, and like Richarlison before him, things simply have not worked out in north London.
A new centre-forward is firmly on the agenda, and a reliable Spurs insider has revealed that 20-year-old Frenchman Eli Junior Kroupi wants to join the club.
That follows what were described as “positive talks” with the young striker’s representatives, though Bournemouth are expected to demand as much as £90m to sanction a sale.
Arsenal are also said to remain in the mix for Kroupi, but it is Roberto De Zerbi’s Spurs side who appear to be leading the race at this stage.
Kroupi’s rise over the past 12 months has been remarkable, beginning with 22 goals in France’s second tier for Lorient in 2024/25 before a £12m move to England.
His debut Premier League season proved sensational, as he set the record for the most goals scored by a teenager in their first top-flight campaign with 13 strikes.
Kroupi missed only three big chances that season and boasted a 25% goal conversion rate, a stark contrast to Solanke’s 17% rate and 17 missed big chances in his final campaign.
Thierry Henry has already drawn a notable comparison, describing the youngster as being “very Jermain Defoe-like when he’s in the box.”
Bobby Zamora, a man who left Spurs as part of the deal to sign Defoe himself in 2004, has echoed that view in striking terms.
“He reminds me of a Jermain Defoe: quick backlift, quick strikes, and only really interested in scoring goals. He scores all different sorts of goals, too.”
Defoe, who boasted 162 Premier League goals across his career, remains one of the most clinical strikers the division has ever seen, and the comparison carries serious weight.
Kroupi’s slight frame belies a deadly efficiency in front of goal, and the prospect of him leading the Spurs attack next season is one that will excite supporters.
With rivals Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea, and Liverpool all having already splashed out on elite strikers in recent transfer windows, Spurs may find themselves with a clearer run at securing their man.
Whether ENIC can agree a fee with Bournemouth remains the key question, but the player’s desire to move to north London is a hugely encouraging sign for the club.