Big-money flop may never play for Spurs again if Kroupi signs

Tottenham Hotspur have wasted plenty of cash in recent years but in the year of 2026, things promise to be different. They need to be too. Spurs simply had to respond emphatically to nearly being relegated from the Premier League and boy have they done just that.

In a bid to kickstart the new stadium era, Johan Lange, Roberto De Zerbi and Co have been busy at work. Sandro Tonali has headed to north London in a remarkable £100m deal, olbitering their transfer record.

In fact, they’ve broken that record twice, previously held by £65m Dominic Solanke, to sign Mateus Fernandes for £85m.

Next on the agenda is signing a couple of exciting forward players.

How Spurs are planning to strengthen their forward line

Plenty of issues hit Spurs in 2025/26 but, primarily due to several injuries, they lacked firepower in the final third of the pitch.

James Maddison missed much of the season owing to an ACL injury. Mohammed Kudus has missed most of 2026, Dejan Kulusevski was absent for the whole season and Solanke also sat out of 30 matches.

In truth, Spurs were never really going to be able to compete with what was effectively their whole forward line missing for large periods of the campaign.

Barring injury, they will be back firing again in 2026/27. Maddison is fit again, while it is expected Kudus and Solanke will be fine once pre-season ramps up. Kulusevski’s situation is unclear.

They could all be joined by further new recruits. AC Milan’s Rafael Leao is on the radar and would add a dose of sparkle on the left flank that has been missing since Heung-min Son departed for LA a year ago.

The Portuguese is one of the most dangerous wingers in the world and knows where the back of the net is. Over the last five seasons, he has scored 67 goals in all competitions. That’s just over 13 a year. Not bad indeed.

Manchester City’s Savinho has also been touted with a move. It’s a deal Spurs are exploring and in the shape of the Brazilian, they’d have a different proposition to Leao. The City outcast is more a creative winger by comparison, registering 13 assists in 2024/25, even more than Kevin De Bruyne managed during his final year at the Etihad.

The most exciting link, however, is to Bournemouth’s Eli Junior Kroupi. Valued at £90m, there have been some suggestions that the young Frenchman would be open to joining Tottenham this summer.

What a signing he would be too. No teenager had ever scored 13 goals in their debut Premier League season until Kroupi came along. He is one of the finest young attackers in Europe right now.

That move, however, would represent bad news for a couple of members of De Zerbi’s squad.

What Kroupi’s arrival at Spurs would mean for the squad

Given the 19-year-old has also been chased by Arsenal, this would be another exceptional coup from Spurs if they were able to pull it off.

Not just one of the finest strikers in England, he is quickly emerging as one of the most exciting talents in world football. 13 goals is not a mindblowing figure but at that age, he is not going to be reaching Erling Haaland or Kylian Mbappe levels of goalscoring.

In the future, however, that is a distinct possibility. Daniel Sturridge has already exclaimed that this young superstar is “one of the best finishers in the Premier League”. Fine praise indeed from a man who knew a thing or two about scoring goals at this level.

Given the state of Tottenham’s forward line, Kroupi would walk into the team. That would represent bad news for the aforementioned Solanke and, in particular, £60m man Richarlison.

It is safe to say that the Brazilian is one of the most polarising figures in Spurs’ recent history. He’s been described as “one of the worst signings in Premier League history” by Gabby Agbonlahor and while that might be up for debate, it’s really rather hard to argue with.

Richarlison has come up with some clutch moments since arriving from Everton but truthfully, those golden pieces of play have been few and far between.

After that huge move from Goodison Park, he scored just three goals during his first season with the Lilywhites, bagging only once in the league. His performance levels have fluctuated significantly.

The 29-year-old has scored 12 goals in two of his seasons in the English capital but he has simply been far too inconsistent for the price tag.

The only comfort for the Spurs forward is that De Zerbi did seem to take a liking to him. After being left out by Igor Tudor, Richarlison started the final four games and scored twice in that time, helping his team to safety.

However, combine the fact that several important players are now back from injury with the fact that Leao and Kroupi could both join and it looks bleak for the Brazilian going forward.

Attracting interest from Turkey, perhaps we have already seen Richarlison play his final game in Tottenham colours.