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See the full story · 1 sourcesManchester City transfer target undergoes surgery as 100-day sideline spell begins
Man City target Eli Junior Kroupi has undergone surgery on a foot injury
Bournemouth star expected to be sidelined for three to four months following the procedure
The setback represents a significant blow for the 20-year-old ahead of his second PL season
Manchester City transfer target Eli Junior Kroupi has undergone surgery on a foot injury and is set to miss three to four months of action, dealing a significant blow to the France international’s start to the season.
The 20-year-old had been one of the most sought-after young forwards in the Premier League this summer following an outstanding debut season at Bournemouth , in which the former Lorient striker scored 13 goals in the Premier League to establish himself as one of the most dangerous attacking talents in English football at his age.
Manchester City had made contact with Bournemouth over Kroupi earlier in the summer window, with director of football Hugo Viana understood to have identified the France international as a profile of wide forward capable of meeting the attacking requirements Enzo Maresca has outlined for the 2026-27 campaign.
Bournemouth receive transfer contact from Manchester City over star forward
Kroupi joined Bournemouth from Lorient in February 2025 in a deal worth approximately £10 million, spending the remainder of that season on loan back at his boyhood club, where he scored 22 goals in 30 appearances to finish as Ligue 2’s top scorer and help Lorient win promotion before completing his full move to the Vitality Stadium this summer.
His return for a first uninterrupted pre-season at Bournemouth had been anticipated as the springboard for a second Premier League campaign that both the player and club had hoped would confirm the extraordinary promise of his debut season – a hope that has now been complicated significantly by the foot injury that required surgical intervention.
Report: Kroupi undergoes surgery with three to four-month absence expected
According to David Ornstein of The Athletic , Kroupi has undergone surgery on a foot injury and is expected to be sidelined for three to four months as he recovers from the procedure.
A three to four-month absence would rule Kroupi out until October or November at the earliest, meaning he is expected to miss the entirety of Bournemouth’s pre-season preparations and the opening months of the Premier League season, with the Cherries facing a significant portion of their early campaign without one of their most influential attacking options.
The timing of the injury also has direct implications for any clubs who had been monitoring Kroupi’s situation this summer, with a transfer window that was already complicated by Bournemouth’s desire to retain the player now made even more complex by the uncertainty that a lengthy injury absence introduces into any negotiation.
The surgery itself follows a foot complaint that had not previously been disclosed publicly, suggesting the issue had been developing in the background during what would have been the early stages of Kroupi’s first fully uninterrupted pre-season as a Bournemouth player.
Hugo Viana and Manchester City make Bournemouth inquiry over Eli Junior Kroupi What does Kroupi’s injury mean for Manchester City’s summer plans?
The setback places City’s interest in Kroupi in a very different context to the one that existed even a week ago, with the combination of Bournemouth’s asking price, the player’s contractual situation and now a significant surgical absence creating an unusually complex set of circumstances around any potential pursuit.
Viana’s stated preference for a winger capable of dribbling and creating chances with passes remains unaddressed in the current squad, with the futures of Savinho and others on the wide options still to be resolved as the window progresses towards its closing stages.
Whether City choose to maintain any interest in Kroupi with the knowledge that he would not be available until November at the earliest, or redirect their search entirely toward fit alternatives already being assessed in the market, will now become one of the more pressing decisions of Maresca and Viana’s remaining summer business at the Etihad Stadium.
For Bournemouth , the injury to one of their most marketable assets removes at least some of the transfer pressure they had been facing this summer, albeit at a significant cost in terms of their own squad planning and the contribution Kroupi might otherwise have provided in the early weeks of a new Premier League campaign.
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