Bournemouth Sign Teenage Sensation Eli Junior Kroupi From Lorient

Deadline day wasn’t as exciting as it has been in previous years, but that doesn’t mean that it was totally silent. There were a lot of loan signings, such as Ben Chilwell to Crystal Palace and Mathys Tel to Tottenham and Manchester City went big again, signing Nico Gonzalez from Porto for £50m. But perhaps the most under the radar signing was Bournemouth’s new man Eli Junior Kroupi.

How Did The Deal Come About?

Bournemouth have shown an interest in Kroupi for some time, and there were even slight rumors that he could have joined the club last summer, but Lorient were keen to keep a hold of him for their promotion push back into Ligue 1. Bournemouth’s owner Bill Foley has a minority stake in the club and so decisions made about Lorient often have Bournemouth in mind.

Two years ago, just a month after Foley bought Bournemouth, the Cherries signed Dango Ouattara, then 20 years old, from Lorient. He took a while to settle into the Premier League, but this season, the winger has eight goals in all competitions. Kroupi is similarly inexperienced in top flight football, so he might take even longer to adapt considering that he is just 18 years old.

🚨🍒 𝐎𝐅𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐋 | Bournemouth complete signing of Eli Junior Kroupi (18) from Lorient. 🇫🇷

Fee is €12m + bonuses. The forward will stay at Lorient until end of season. ⭐️ pic.twitter.com/HteKrHq2QA

— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) February 3, 2025

This month, West Ham were keen on capturing his signature, which made Bournemouth make their move. Bournemouth’s president of football operations Tiago Pinto even stated that they signed Kroupi now rather than next summer because of the interest in him from across Europe. In the deal, Kroupi will stay with Lorient in order to help them achieve promotion and then join up with Bournemouth in pre-season.

Kroupi’s Career So Far

Kroupi has broken quite a few records in his career already, despite being just 18 years old. The Frenchman has spent his whole career at Lorient, having joined their academy at the age of six. He quickly rose through the ranks and became a proven goalscorer for their reserve team. Kroupi has played across the attack, but most recently has been deployed as an out and out striker.

He made his debut for Lorient at the age of 16, making him the youngest debutant for the club, beating Matteo Guendouzi’s record. Despite his debut coming in the last game of the season, he was still the third youngest player to play in the league that season, behind Warren Zaire-Emery and Leny Yoro.

Breaking !

Deal Agreed…

AFC Bournemouth have agreed a deal with Lorient for Eli Junior Kroupi.

Permanent deal but will be loaned back to Lorient and link with #afcb this summer.

Phew 😅

— Mark McAdam (@markmcadamtv) February 3, 2025

He scored his first goal for the club at the start of next season, after he had turned 17, yet he was still the youngest goal scorer for the club, beating Andre Ayew’s record. He then became the youngest player to score a brace in the French top flight since 1974 when Bernard Zenier scored twice for Metz at just 17.

In total, Kroupi has scored 24 times in senior football in just 69 matches. For someone that young, who doesn’t even get a full 90 minutes most of the time, that is a very good output. Bournemouth’s recruitment recently has been very good, and there is no doubt that Kroupi will develop into a strong player for them, but he might just take some time to settle into the Premier League.