Bournemouth's Eli Junior Kroupi is a major talent - but might not be what Manchester United need right now

While the story of Manchester United’s season has ultimately proven to be one of renewed hope and upward curve, there have still been several sources of frustration even since Michael Carrick took charge and steadied the ship – and the failure of summer signing Benjamin Šeško to establish himself has been among them.

The Slovenian has nine league goals to his name but has been an inconsistent figure and has tended to be at his most threatening from the bench, rather than a striker who takes games by the scruff of the neck and troubles defences from first whistle to last.

Small wonder, then, that Manchester United are being linked with a move for another centre-forward this summer, with Bournemouth’s Eli Junior Kroupi frequently linked with a move to Old Trafford. But would the teenage Frenchman really be the answer to Carrick’s attacking prayers?

Eli Junior Kroupi is a massive talent – but would he be right for Manchester United?

When Kroupi scored the opening goal in Bournemouth’s 2-1 win over Arsenal, he became the first teenager in 26 years to hit double figures in his first season in the Premier League, reaching a mark last set by Robbie Keane at Coventry City back in the 1999/2000 season.

Given his age and his goalscoring record, it’s small wonder that the young Frenchman has started to find his name cropping up on the rumour mill. Manchester United are one of a few elite sides said to have been scouting the 18-year-old, with TEAMtalk among the outlets to claim that his performance at the Emirates took place in front of club representatives who were suitably impressed.

Kroupi has already demonstrated remarkable composure and finesse in the penalty area, scoring his 10 league goals from an xG of just 6.71. Few strikers in the top flight can boast such efficiency in front of the opposing goalkeeper – fewer still have so many years of football left ahead of them.

That doesn’t necessarily make him the perfect target for United, however, not least because there has been chatter about a desire within the club to move away from signing unproven youngsters and towards more experienced players who can contribute towards the hoped-for renaissance more immediately. Even if that reservation was set aside due to Kroupi’s talent, however, there would be a question about whether he was too similar in terms of playing style to Šeško.

Given that Šeško stands more than six inches taller than Kroupi, it’s not an immediately obvious concern, but their playing style is more similar than may appear to be the case at first glance. They both have similar movement and positioning off the ball, looking to find pockets of space in midfield and in front of the opposing box to receive possession, and both look to link up with those around them in broadly similar ways.

There are key differences, of course, and not only in the fact that Šeško is theoretically far more threatening in the air (although both have managed just one headed goal each in the Premier League thus far). Kroupi is probably the better passer and link-up man as it stands, but like Šeško struggles to take defenders on with the ball at his feet in one-on-one situations. These are both forwards who don’t yet create their own opportunities or break defensive lines – they rely on others to do the creative work for them.

Signing Kroupi may not change the dynamic of how United need to attack to create and score chances as a result of those similarities. Šeško, thanks to his height, is perhaps more suited to situations in which United need to go more direct to conjure something up (which may explain his impact from the bench), but as a starter both would demand much the same kind of service. The only real difference is that putting the ball in towards Kroupi through the air probably isn’t going to produce the strongest results.

There are, obviously, benefits to having two players with similar styles in the same position, in that rotating between the two would require minimal adaptation, so the question United would need to ask before bidding for Kroupi is whether they are happy with the balance of the team as is or whether they want a forward who can attack defences from different angles.

While Kroupi has been more efficient as a goalscorer than Šeško this season, it’s also worth noting that the gap is relatively small. The Frenchman has outperformed his xG by 49% and scored every 132 minutes. Šeško has outscored his expected rate by 20% and scored every 167 minutes. Kroupi has been better, certainly, but Šeško’s underlying numbers are still highly promising. It’s the consistency of his performances which has been concerning, but that doesn’t erode the underlying talent.

It’s surely not worth sidelining a 22-year-old player who cost up to £74m after one year for another youngster whose raw statistical output is not that much better – so signing Kroupi only makes sense for Manchester United if they see the pair as a long-term rotation, two players whose competition for starting minutes could spur each other on. Perhaps, in this instance, a more experienced and reliable player who Šeško could learn from would be a more logical addition.

Will Manchester United really bid for Kroupi this summer?

All of this is only truly relevant if Manchester United are indeed in the market for Kroupi – and while their interest has been widely reported, it is a rumour which has largely been confined to the gossipier corners of the media. No highly reliable journalists have yet suggested the connection.

That doesn’t make it false, but does put the story into perspective. United may well be scouting Kroupi, but there are no firm indications that they have done any more than that. Transfer stories are usually reported by the best journalistic sources when they move to a point at which some form of approach or offer has been made, so we can at least suggest that we aren’t that far along yet. United may well decide to focus their transfer efforts elsewhere come the summer.

If they do decide to make a move, they will likely find it to be expensive. A figure of around £60m has been posited by Football Insider in another new story which has been amplified by the aggregator sites. It may not prove accurate, but perhaps offers a fair estimate of the ballpark figure Bournemouth might demand.

Certainly, with Kroupi under contract at Dean Court until 2030, the Cherries have no compelling reasons to sell him on the cheap. They will be able to push the price up even more if some of the other sides linked with the Frenchman weigh in: Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and RB Leipzig have all been linked with a move in recent days, with plenty of other Premier League teams suggested by older rumours.

The chances are that not all of the teams connected with Kroupi are likely to make a bid, but there could easily be a bidding war. That might make him too expensive for some teams, especially those with a pressing need to invest in multiple positions – and that could include United, who are also looking for a left-back, a centre-back, a winger, at least one midfielder and potentially a goalkeeper.

As it stands, there is little hard evidence that Kroupi is a priority target for United, and even if he was there are no guarantees that they would be able to sign him. Perhaps a more interesting question, however, is whether they should spend £60m on a raw but immensely promising player whose style of play overlaps intriguingly with the only recognised striker they already have on the books. Whether they make a move for Kroupi could tell us a lot about how they feel about the team’s style of play as a whole under Carrick.