French wonderkid, the 'next Mbappe', wanted by El Clasico rivals

Spain's duo of giants have turned to the next generation of stars as they look to try and compete with the mega money of Chelsea, Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain, and are focusing their attention on a Ligue 1's starlet. Real Madrid and Barcelona are both keeping tabs on French teenage wonderkid Eli Junior Kroupi.

The 17-year-old has been dubbed 'the next Kylian Mbappe' after a string of striking displays and has taken the league by storm this season for Lorient.

Kroupi's first goal for Lorient against Nantes last month made him the club's youngest-ever goal-scorer while his two goals in the 3-3 draw with Lyon earlier in October saw him become the youngest player to score a brace in Ligue 1 since Bernard Zeneir in 1974, at 17 years and 107 days.

He has started over half of the club's games so far this season, scoring three goals and laying on three assists to become the talk of the French league.

In a bid to warn off suitors, Lorient have already put a contract renewal on the table for Kroupi, even though his current deal doesn't run out until 2026.

His performances have alerted Europe's big guns and according to Sport, both Real Madrid and Barcelona are watching him closely.

Real Madrid have invested heavily in youth players in recent windows splashing out on players like Rodrygo, Vinicius Junior, Eduardo Camavinga and Aurelien Tchouameni. And of course, let's not forget that they have been trying to sign the 'real' Kylian Mbappe for seasons now.

Barcelona are keen to add the Frenchman to their string of young stars, that include names such as Gavi and Pedri, who are already established Spanish internationals as well as their other teenage sensations.

Lamine Yamal has already broken a string of records for club and country after breaking into the Barcelona team this season, aged just 16.

Also, this past weekend 17-year-old Marc Guiu made his debut for the club, and scored the winner 23 seconds after coming on off the bench for Xavi's side.

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