Can Eli Junior Kroupi keep up his white hot finishing?

When news dropped that Eli Junior Kroupi was signed by Bournemouth from Lorient just before the conclusion of last year’s January transfer window, people were of two minds. The first was skepticism, due to Bournemouth’s owner Bill Foley having a 30% stake in Lorient. Unsurprisingly, this wasn’t the first time the two clubs were involved in a transfer. Some will remember when Dango Ouattara made the move to the south coast of England in January 2023, and in the current window, Ade Solanke has made the switch from Lorient’s academy to Bournemouth’s. These kinds of deals have become very commonplace in the current era of football where multi-club ownership reigns supreme.

Once those feelings washed away, it wasn’t hard to see the intrigue with the transfer. At that point, Kroupi was in the midst of an impressive season in Ligue 2. 2024-25 saw him finish first in the league for goals and total goals + assists, helping Lorient achieve automatic promotion by winning the league.

French football as a whole is full of interesting young talents, and experts highlighted him as one to watch. In a physical league full of opponents trying to kick you off the pitch, a teenager producing at a very high level was impressive.

I’m not even sure scouts with the rosiest of projections for Kroupi envisioned him coming to the Premier League and putting up seven goals in less than a thousand minutes of play. He’s currently tied for 13th in goals, and tied for 9th in non-penalty goals. Among players 21 or under in Europe’s big 5 leagues, he’s tied for 5th. If you adjust it on a per 90 minutes basis, his goal-scoring rate looks even better.

Unsurprisingly, the big thing with Kroupi’s debut PL season has been his finishing. It’s been a continuation of what was seen back in France. Keen watchers had already noticed his ability to make life difficult for opposing goalkeepers with how he placed shots. He has racked up some impressive finishes in such a short time in English football, including the goal he scored vs Nottingham Forest.

Arguably the most impressive part of Kroupi’s shooting is just how sudden he can fire them. Almost in the blink of an eye, he’s already getting into the motion for the shot due to clean footwork. This helps create the kind of fearsome dip which can fool goalkeepers. Even on shots which are straight at them, you can see the dip he gets.

As of now, he is white hot with his conversion rate. Depending on the model used, he’s outpacing his expected goal numbers by around double. This won’t continue, as nobody is going to score on nearly 37% of their shots. Trying to project who will and won’t be the attackers to consistently finish above their xG is not the easiest exercise. In the case of Kroupi, we’re admittedly going off of only 19 shots in the PL so far and what he did in Ligue 2, but there stands to reason that he might be one of those guys going forward.

The finishing has helped mask the lack of shots Kroupi’s been able to generate, as 19 shots is not a lot considering the playing time he’s had. A bit of that is due to the reality that open play shots are hard to come by in the Premier League these days. As well, he’s shared some minutes with a striker in Evanilson. In situations where the Brazilian is not occupying the opponent’s center-backs, Kroupi will do so. Following an aerial duel win from a teammate, he’ll try to find space in behind with a channel run. Within the box, he’s regularly been in position for potential cut-backs but not necessarily trying to crash the six. Other times, he’s tried to stealthily arrive late in the box from deep positions. There’s promise with what Kroupi has provided off the ball, but with room for improvement.

Something that has translated decently for Kroupi has been what he can provide as a connector. Due to his impressive touch in controlling a variety of passes, he’s often been situated in deep areas to try and facilitate possession sequences. This is partially reflected with him being above average at not giving the ball away. Because of having a strong level of ball security, it helps enable him to look for quick 1-2’s. At this stage of his career, physical defenders can give him a hard time so Kroupi will often try to be quick with his actions while playing with his back to goal.

In theory, that skill should help enable Kroupi to create chances higher up the pitch. Being secure as a receiver makes it easier to move into the next action, but that’s not been the case so far. He does try to look for quick outlet passes to help initiate transitions, but the final third creativity has not emerged yet. Him being noticeably one-footed doesn’t help either. A forward of this archetype needs to become an impactful playmaker to truly unlock their value.

One area that will be interesting to see going forward would be how much of a dribbler Kroupi amounts to in the PL. The close control he shows is downright impressive for a 19-year-old, with him being able to occasionally evade markers from deft touches to bypass opponents and buy a bit of extra time on the ball. In comparison, he looks more ordinary in 1v1s out wide. He’s not an explosive athlete in these situations, while also being a bit sloppy with his first few touches while trying to size up the opponent.

What we’ve seen so far from Kroupi has certainly been promising. His biggest positive to this point is that the shooting techniques he used in France have traveled over well to the Premier League, even despite the jump in goalkeeping quality and competition overall. This is not to say he’s only been a fearsome finisher and nothing more, because he has also provided value elsewhere, although not to the same degree as last season. Even still, Kroupi hasn’t sunk in the deep end so far, which is promising for how good he could become in the future.

The hope for Kroupi is that with more experience, he evolves into a top tier connector who not only combines with others in deeper areas, but can also split opposing defenders. An obvious example of this is Gabriel Jesus, someone who threaded this needle beautifully at his peak. It’s not surprising that in the Mikel Arteta era of Arsenal, their attack was arguably the most exciting when Jesus was healthy and fully firing. It’s a tall task for anyone to match considering he is a prolific dribbler from various areas in the pitch, particularly with how evasive he can be. However, you can see some of the building blocks in place with Kroupi.

In theory, Bournemouth should be a good place for Kroupi to continue exploring the studio space with his game. The Cherries have a track record of improving talents under their stewardship, largely due to the coaching of Andoni Iraola. They still remain one of the most unique sides in the PL, constantly trying to straddle the line of controlled chaos both with and without the ball. There’ve been some bright moments out of possession for Kroupi, helping generate high turnovers due to his ground coverage. In-possession, the constant frenzy from trying to discombobulate the opposition should theoretically suit how he plays, playing more often against an unsettled defense with runners to work off of. How much longer will this style of play from Bournemouth be seen is relevant to Kroupi’s development, with Iraola’s contract expiring in the summer.

Year 1 for Kroupi in English football has so far been a success, although not an overwhelming one despite the impressive goal tally. He’s so far shown to be a cultured finisher, albeit one who is also getting a good run of variance in his favor. The other skills haven’t quite shown themselves at the same level, but that’s not a surprise with how early he made the jump to arguably the toughest league in the world. Him simply providing any positive value at his age is a promising sign for what is yet to come. With further growth, Eli Junior Kroupi could become the next success story to emerge from Bournemouth. 

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