After a summer in which AFC Bournemouth sold a number of their key players, including Illya Zabarnyi, Dean Huijsen, Milos Kerkez and Dango Ouattara, few could have predicted the Cherries' remarkable start to the season.
Building on their joint-high league finish of ninth in 2024/5, Andoni Iraola’s team have taken another step forward and currently sit second thanks to tactical and individual brilliance.
Nineteen-year-old striker Junior Kroupi is the latest player to shine, scoring four goals in his last three Premier League matches and earning a nomination for October's EA Sports Player of the Month award.
Watch Kroupi's goals
So who is the newest youngster to burst onto the scene at Vitality Stadium? Here, Jerry Takou and Dan Edwards profile the summer signing.
Born to play
Born on 23 June 2006 in Lorient, France, Kroupi’s story is one steeped in football heritage.
His father, Eli Kroupi, enjoyed a distinguished career across France, featuring for clubs such as Stade Rennais, AS Nancy, and FC Lorient, where his son would later play.
A forward himself, Kroupi senior’s finest hour came in the 2005/06 season when he helped Nancy lift the Coupe de la Ligue, the very season his son was born.
“Like father, like son” could not be truer here. Growing up in Brittany, Junior Kroupi quickly developed the same hunger for football, joining FC Lorient’s academy when he was six.
His talent was impossible to ignore and by the age of 15, he had already signed his first professional contract, marking him out as one of the brightest prospects in France.
Eli Kroupi senior and Junior Kroupi at Lorient
Making history at Lorient
After scoring seven goals in 15 matches for Lorient’s reserve side in 2022/23, Kroupi made his first-team debut at just 16 years and 345 days old, becoming the youngest player in the club’s history.
The records did not stop there. At 17 years and 92 days old, he became Lorient’s youngest ever scorer in Ligue 1 after he netted against Nantes, beating the record of Andre Ayew, who had held that distinction since 2008.
After one particularly exceptional performance, former Chelsea player and Lorient team-mate Tiemoue Bakayoko said: “He’s a phenomenon. He reminds me a little of [Kylian] Mbappe in the maturity of his game.”
Sunderland head coach Regis Le Bris, then in charge of Lorient, added: “Playing football is pure joy for him. If he keeps enjoying himself like this, there’s a bright future ahead.”
Days later, Kroupi was named in The Guardian's Next Generation 2023 list, which highlighted 60 of the best young talents in world football.
Kroupi finished his breakout campaign with five goals and three assists in 31 appearances, earning widespread acclaim despite Lorient's relegation from Ligue 1.
Dominating Ligue 2
Now playing in the French second tier, Kroupi took it upon himself to see that Lorient would return to Ligue 1.
With 22 goals and two assists in 30 appearances, he did just that as they were crowned champions in May, earning immediate promotion.
Kroupi's influence was underlined as he was crowned Ligue 2 Player of the Season for 2024/25.
Bournemouth’s clever connection
So how did Bournemouth secure one of Europe’s most exciting teenagers this summer? The answer lies in ownership.
The Cherries are part of Bill Foley’s Black Knight Football and Entertainment group, which also holds a minority stake in FC Lorient.
Long before the transfer, Foley had hinted at the strategic advantage of such partnerships in an interview with The Athletic: “It’s about controlling our destiny, developing players across clubs with great academies," he said. "We’ve found a special opportunity in Ligue 1.”
That “special opportunity” has now blossomed on the south coast. Bournemouth previously benefited from Lorient’s production line by buying Ouattara, and Kroupi appears to be following a similar path.
Early impact in Premier League
Kroupi is already in great company. He is the 15th different teenager to score in three consecutive Premier League matches and the first overseas teenager to do so since Romelu Lukaku (March 2013).
His 27 goals in all competitions since the start of last season are the most of any player aged under 20 in Europe.
This season, meanwhile, only one teenager from within Europe’s top five leagues - Eintracht Frankfurt’s Can Uzun (five) - has outscored Kroupi (four) in league action. Uzun has started eight games, while Kroupi has started just two.
What kind of player is Kroupi?
Like Uzun, Kroupi is a true sharp-shooter who has proven to be just as dangerous from long distance as he is from close range, as evidenced by his wonderful strike last time out against Nottingham Forest.
As an instinctive finisher with elite ball-striking abilities, he possesses a lethal combination of traits that are unique for a player his age.
The teenager can score from tight angles and excels with one-touch finishes. He already has a highlights reel of volleys which Sergio Aguero would be proud of, and there are similarities to be found in their approach to goalscoring.
Kroupi's shot map 2025/26
One key area where they differ, though, is their ability to shoot with both feet – Kroupi almost exclusively shoots with his right foot, which is ironic given his father was two-footed.
It is no accident that the young Frenchman has taken over from the injured Evanilson so effectively.
Both players share a level of dynamism that can be rare for a centre-forward, and neither can be pigeonholed as a specific type of striker.
They are certainly not target men, nor are they playmakers; but they are both highly active forwards whose knack for associative play allows them to be comfortable both inside and outside of the box.
This makes them perfect for Bournemouth’s high-octane attacking approach, which encourages one-twos and positional flexibility.
Kroupi has strong vision for a young striker and is quick to scan his surroundings before finding a team-mate’s run, but one area he can improve on in this aspect is his weight of pass, which can at times see him perhaps play at too quick a pace.
Nonetheless, given his aforementioned ball-striking ability, logic would suggest that he will be able to fine-tune his passing technique quicker than other players could.
Chance to make history against Man City
Kroupi loves to pick the ball up in deeper positions before running directly at defences, and this should be of concern to Pep Guardiola when Manchester City welcome Bournemouth on Sunday.
Due to the absences of Rodri and Nico Gonzalez - whose presence was limited to an appearance off the bench - Guardiola's City side were overrun in midfield in their defeat to Aston Villa.
Kroupi would be well-placed to benefit should neither player be fit enough to start this weekend.
The Frenchman's quick touches make it difficult for players to commit to making challenges, but a failure to intervene will see him shoot from distance given half a chance.
A goal against Man City would make him only the fourth teenager in Premier League history to score in four or more matches in a row, after Robbie Fowler, Nicolas Anelka and Francis Jeffers.
Do not be surprised to see City’s midfielders attempt to foul him early to keep him outside of shooting range, and out of the record books.