{"id":63131,"date":"2026-07-30T14:55:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T14:55:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/63131\/"},"modified":"2026-07-30T14:55:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T14:55:12","slug":"bundesliga-forward-emerges-as-a-strong-option-for-barcelona-after-eli-junior-kroupi-setback","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/63131\/","title":{"rendered":"Bundesliga forward emerges as a strong option for Barcelona after Eli Junior Kroupi setback"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Barcelona\u2019s search for a new striker this summer seems to be going nowhere. Every light at the end of the tunnel has so far ended up being an oncoming train.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The club\u2019s dream and priority still continues to be Julian Alvarez, but with every passing day, the hope of signing him from Atletico Madrid keeps dissipating.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The club briefly turned their attention to Bournemouth striker Eli Junior Kroupi but quickly withdrew their interest. The Frenchman also <a href=\"https:\/\/barcauniversal.com\/barcelona-centre-forward-target-out-for-3-4-months-with-pre-season-injury\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">suffered an injury that is set to keep him out for most of 2026<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So, now, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sport.es\/es\/noticias\/barca\/fisnik-asllani-oportunidad-mercado-9-132935692\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">SPORT<\/a>, Barcelona\u2019s search for a new striker has taken a fresh turn, with Hoffenheim forward Fisnik Asllani now climbing the club\u2019s shortlist.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Asllani is now said to be one of the strongest alternatives if the club decide to recruit another No. 9.<\/p>\n<p>Kroupi injury changes Barcelona\u2019s plans<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"759\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/bournemouth-v-manchester-city-premier-league-1-1-1024x759.jpg\" alt=\"Eli Junior Kroupi of Bournemouth\" class=\"wp-image-207206\"  \/>Out for 3-4 months. (Photo by Eddie Keogh\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The report claims Kroupi\u2019s injury-enforced absence has removed one of Barcelona\u2019s preferred back-up options in the striker market.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That development has opened the door for Asllani, who is willing to delay other opportunities in the hope of receiving a call from Camp Nou.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Barcelona\u2019s sporting department are said to view the Kosovo international as a player with the right balance of quality, potential and affordability, making him an increasingly attractive option.<\/p>\n<p>Why Flick likes Asllani<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Asllani\u2019s profile is believed to suit the demands Hansi Flick places on his centre-forwards.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Standing around 1.92 metres tall, the 23-year-old combines physical presence with mobility, presses aggressively from the front and offers a strong aerial threat.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He also impressed in the Bundesliga last season with 10 goals and seven assists, while showing the ability to finish comfortably with either foot.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/tsg-hoffenheim-v-borussia-monchengladbach-bundesliga-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Fisnik Asllani of TSG 1899 Hoffenheim\" class=\"wp-image-195681\"  \/>Climbing on the list. (Photo by Alex Grimm\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>Financially viable option<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Financially, Asllani is viewed as one of the more realistic options available. His \u20ac29 million release clause falls within a range Barcelona believe they could manage, and there is optimism that Hoffenheim could even negotiate below that figure.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, the Catalan club may not have unlimited time to make a decision.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">RB Leipzig <a href=\"https:\/\/barcauniversal.com\/bundesliga-striker-holding-off-agreed-transfer-in-hope-of-barcelona-move-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">already have an agreement in principle<\/a> with the player, although Asllani has asked for patience because of his desire to join Barcelona.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, if Bar\u00e7a do not act on their interest in the coming weeks, it could leave Asllani in a situation where he is forced to accept another offer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As of now, there is not much clarity on whether this is a road the Blaugrana want to go down this summer, and it remains to be seen whether Deco makes a concrete push to sign the 23-year-old.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Barcelona\u2019s search for a new striker this summer seems to be going nowhere. Every light at the end&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":46527,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[92,222,223,4389,22983],"class_list":["post-63131","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-barcelona","tag-barcelona","tag-barcelona-news","tag-fc-barcelona","tag-fisnik-asllani","tag-hoffenheim"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63131","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63131"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63131\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46527"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63131"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63131"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63131"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}