Arsenal transfer target Eli Junior Kroupi is on course to make his return from injury earlier than expected, following an update on a potential January exit from Bournemouth.

Amid significant interest in Kroupi, it was understood that a bid of close to £100m would likely be required to test Bournemouth's resolve.

However, the Cherries' stance was that the 20-year-old was not for sale, with club insiders believing that Kroupi would benefit from another season with them and their position being strengthened by securing European football.

Ultimately, Kroupi stayed put and while Arsenal, among other clubs, have been tipped to make a move for the Frenchman in the winter window, BBC Sport have recently reported that Bournemouth are still not willing to entertain any offers in January.

Eli Junior Kroupi is back in training for Bournemouth

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Kroupi is yet to feature for Bournemouth this season after undergoing surgery on a fractured metatarsal in July, which was expected to rule him out of action for up to four months.

However, after returning to full training, he could be involved on Sunday afternoon when the Cherries face a struggling Manchester United at Old Trafford.

“Junior is back into team training but not on the UEFA list, but maybe we can have him for some minutes in Manchester,” Bournemouth boss Marco Rose said.

While Bournemouth, reportedly, have no plans to sell Kroupi in the winter transfer window, they have softened their not-for-sale stance on Alex Scott.

The Cherries rejected a £64m bid for Scott from Chelsea in the summer and subsequent approaches from other major clubs in England but have said they would consider a sale in January if they are confident of avoiding relegation and can land a fee of at least £100m.