Bournemouth have decided they will not entertain any mid-season offers for striker Eli Junior Kroupi, a player on Arsenal's radar. The 20-year-old, valued at around £100million, has not played a single game this season after undergoing surgery in July on a fractured metatarsal.
Kroupi was on Mikel Arteta's transfer wishlist in the summer as the Gunners prioritised bringing in a forward. Bournemouth insisted their star talent was not for sale, and the injury during pre-season firmly ended Arsenal's pursuit.
Bournemouth reject January approach
Given Arsenal's failure to bring in Vinicius Junior and Julian Alvarez, many fans hoped the club would return with a bid for Kroupi in January. However, BBC Sport reports that Bournemouth are not willing to entertain any mid-season offers for the Frenchman, who is not expected back until November.
Kroupi's goal against Manchester City handed Arsenal the title last term, and the Gunners remain interested in the forward.
Tzolis suffers hamstring injury
Arsenal winger Christos Tzolis is set to return to the club as he faces 15 to 20 days on the sidelines with a hamstring injury. The 24-year-old summer signing underwent tests after being forced off on Thursday evening for Greece, only minutes after his opener was ruled out for offside.
Tzolis pulled up and felt tightness in the back of his right hamstring. He was eager to continue playing and, while he initially moved off the pitch with his head in his hands, he attempted to battle on. Manager Ivan Jovanovic then substituted him in order to protect him.
Manager explains substitution clash
Jovanovic detailed their clash during his press conference when asked to clarify the substitution debacle (quotes via sport24): "How do I handle it? You tell me? I'm his coach, I tell him to go out and he says, 'I'm not going out.'"
"How do I handle it? So, this is something that I characterise as the Greek mentality and all these kids who come to play in the national team regardless of age. I think it was a scene that everyone saw, those who were close. I told him to get out, because I suspected that he wouldn't have done that if he hadn't felt something. We don't know how big the damage is today, but I hoped it was just a twitch, something temporary."
"I didn't have any reason to be honest, because these aren't qualifiers, they're the Nations League. First and foremost I wanted to protect the player. He didn't want to stay near me to go out; instead, he went to defend the corner. And then he went out. These are our players."
Sources close to Tzolis have indicated Arsenal are currently reluctant to put a timeframe on the attacker's fitness and will instead assess his condition thoroughly once he arrives back in London. It had been a productive international break for the former Club Brugge forward prior to his setback, as he netted in the win over Serbia in Belgrade before later assisting the winner against Germany.
