\n<\/p>\n
Engage your average football fan over the age of 25 in conversation down the pub and at some point pretty early on in the inevitable \u2018what\u2019s wrong with the modern game?\u2019 discussion, shortly after VAR, playing out from the back and some reference to them being overpaid good-for-nothings, they will probably ask \u2018what\u2019s happened to all the elite strikers?\u2019<\/p>\n
Erling Haaland and Robert Lewandowski will be named as the exceptions, Harry Kane mentioned but dismissed as he\u2019s \u2018more like a playmaker these days, isn\u2019t he?\u2019, before we have a good laugh over the travails of Viktor Gyokeres <\/strong>and Alexander Isak before moving on to how bloody brilliant it is to see long throws back in the beautiful game.<\/p>\n No doubt a namecheck of Junior Kroupi would be met with either confusion or short shrift. But after the 19-year-old scored his 11th Premier League goal of the season against Leeds, those of us dreaming wistfully of the days when false 9s and inverted 10s were no more than glints in the eyes of the football nerds and the Proper Goalscorers reigned supreme have been granted a welcome dose of nostalgia by Bournemouth\u2019s throwback striker.<\/p>\n \u201cMy first thought when I watch him is Jermain Defoe,\u201d Jamie Redknapp said on Sky Sports earlier this season. \u201cUnbelievable striker of the ball, great finisher. He gets that dip on it \u2013 it\u2019s ferocious.\u201d<\/p>\n He delivers \u2018f*** it\u2019 finishes in the same vein as Defoe having clearly spent an inordinate amount of time on the training ground striking the ball instead of engaging in what most forwards these days believe to be more crucial strings to their bows: dribbling, passing, running, pressing.<\/p>\n Back in France, Kroupi often played on the left wing, naturally drifting inside, not unlike a certain Real Madrid superstar, according to former teammate and ex-Chelsea midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko, who played with him at Lorient.<\/p>\n Speaking after Lorient\u2019s 3-3 draw with Lyon back in 2023, in which Kroupi scored a brace, Bakayoko said: \u201cHe\u2019s a phenomenon. He reminds me a little of Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 in terms of the maturity of his game. He already has good stats for a youngster his age.\u201d<\/p>\n The maturity of Mbappe and the finishing skills of Defoe, you say? Pep Guardiola is a \u2018big fan\u2019 and journalist Sacha Tavolieri has told Sky Sports<\/em><\/strong> that Manchester City director of football Hugo Viana has \u2018met with the teenager\u2019s representatives\u2019 ahead of a possible summer bid.<\/p>\n No formal approach to Bournemouth has been made but they\u2019ve apparently slapped an \u20ac80m (\u00a369m) price tag on his head.<\/p>\n City would be signing the second-most productive striker in the Premier League to join the first as Kroupi\u2019s 0.72 goals per game this season is only bettered by Erling Haaland (0.81).<\/p>\n Liverpool and Arsenal have also been linked as their big-money striker signings have failed to convince this term, and Chelsea \u2013 given their penchant for signing young talent \u2013 can\u2019t me ruled out, particularly after Fabrizio Romano delivered an update on their search for a new manager this week.<\/p>\n \u201cIraola would be more than happy to continue in the Premier League,\u201d Romano said<\/strong>. \u201cIraola would be keen on the possibility of becoming the new Chelsea manager.\u201d<\/p>\n It was later reported that Chelsea have \u2018made contact\u2019 with Iraola\u2019s representatives<\/strong> to gauge his interest in the move.<\/p>\n Despite the prevailing opinion being Iraola and similarly upwardly mobile managers would be mad to join Chelsea under BlueCo, the terrible Chelsea owners are precisely why the Spaniard should jump at the chance to take over at Stamford Bridge. It\u2019s the freest of free hits<\/strong>.<\/p>\n And he may well give the Blues a significant advantage in the battle for Kroupi this summer, after the young Frenchman hailed his manager\u2019s impact.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s taught me about a new style of play and a new style of league,\u201d Croup told FourFourTwo<\/em> last month<\/strong>.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m able to work on certain things I didn\u2019t work on when I was at Lorient, particularly from a defensive perspective \u2013 better positioning in the defensive phase or making a certain movement of a few metres that prevents me from having to make a long defensive run.<\/p>\n \u201cThat way, I\u2019m more clear-headed in the area when we\u2019re attacking.\u201d<\/p>\n And then he delivered the kick in the teeth for Man City and boon for an Iraola-led Chelsea.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen it comes to attacking, he gives me a fair amount of freedom,\u201d Kroupi added. \u201cHe also tells me to enjoy myself. That\u2019s the most important thing \u2013 to enjoy yourself and keep helping the team.\u201d<\/p>\n Rayan Cherki has forced Guardiola to make space in his team for a maverick footballer, but \u201cfreedom\u201d hasn\u2019t been a term typically associated with City\u2019s attack across the last decade. It\u2019s been ordered brilliance.<\/p>\n Few turn down the chance to work under Guardiola, even if only for one season as will likely be the case should Kroupi move to Manchester City this summer, but Chelsea\u2019s approach for Iraola gives them a real chance of landing the Defoe-Mbappe hybrid as the teenager will know he will be getting the \u201cmost important\u201d thing if they\u2019re reunited at Stamford Bridge.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n