How Eli Junior Kroupi became Bournemouth’s next jewel … and a World Cup bolter

French teenager has racked up numbers this season that put him on a par with Erling Haaland and Lamine Yamal

Bournemouth have unearthed another diamond in Eli Junior Kroupi. Staff at the club consider the 19-year-old a generational talent and no wonder, given last weekend the forward became the first teenager to register 12 goals in his debut Premier League season since Robbie Fowler in 1993-94. If Kroupi adds to that tally there is a decent chance it will end with the club qualifying for Europe for the first time.

The numbers speak for themselves: Kroupi has averaged a goal every 121 minutes – only Erling Haaland has a better ratio in the league – and of his 43 shots, 20 have been on target, the joint-best conversion rate with Brentford’s Igor Thiago. Among teenagers in the 21st century, only Romelu Lukaku has scored more in a campaign in the competition (17 in 2012-13, on loan at West Brom from Chelsea), and only Lamine Yamal (16) has scored more across Europe’s top five leagues this term. Kroupi’s name is on the lips of scouts at every elite club, with Barcelona thought to have joined Manchester City and Arsenal in keeping tabs. Bournemouth do not want to sell and would demand at least £80m.

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