The Premier League has a proud history of ‘super-subs’. Long ago we had Ole Gunnar Solskjaer coming off the bench scoring important goals for Man United, then Jermaine Defoe for one of the several sides he was at.
Eli Junior Kroupi has only been here for half a season, but six goals in just 510 Premier League minutes, three of which have been off the bench, make him the most prolific striker in the competition, averaging 1.06 goals per 90 minutes.
Bournemouth have tumbled down the Premier League table over the past couple of months, going from as high as second to 15th. So, who is Junior Kroupi, and could he be the man to save their season?
What kind of striker is Junior Kroupi?
Standing at 5’10” a 19-year-old with a skinny build, the Frenchman should really be considered a traditional number nine, but then again, there aren’t too many of them in the Premier League beyond Erling Haaland and Igor Thiago.
Coming up through the youth ranks at FC Lorient, he was often deployed on the left wing, and that kind of positional switch up earned him comparisons to a certain Kylian Mbappe, who also like to play off the left as well as a striker.
Watching him play, it quickly becomes clear that finishing is the strongest aspect of his game. Kroupi Junior has a knack for placing the ball just out of the goalkeeper’s reach; a look at where his goals cross the line shows he finds the corners rather than the centre of the net.
Another impressive aspect is that he’s scoring from everywhere. Hitting the ball with his instep, meaning he generates a LOT of power, close range, mid range, and long range, he’s finding the back of the net.
So let’s look at some of his goals. From close range, we have his 93rd minute equalizer against Leeds, when, you guessed it, he came off the bench. Bournemouth swung in a freekick, Marcos Senesi nodded it on, and Junior Kroupi fired it into the back of the net.
Mid range, we turn to the absolutely mental 4-4 draw with Man United just before Christmas. Receiving the ball from Alex Jimenez via a slight deflection, Kroupi demonstrated that finishing ability, placing it well beyond Senne Lammens and into the bottom left corner.
Finally, for long range, we only have to go as far back as the 3-2 defeat to Arsenal on Saturday (January 3). It’s exactly the type of finish we were referring to, off the instep, it’s as true a strike you’ll ever see. Not right in the corner, but enough to leave David Raya with no chance.
What are his underlying numbers looking like, and is it sustainable?
Simply because he’s not had any regular minutes, Junior Kroupi’s numbers are kind of all over the place. For example, he’s only had 33 touches in the opposition box, completed 86 passes, and won 17 duels.
They don’t matter, though, what we’re looking at are his numbers in front of goal. So far, Junior Kroupi has an xG of 2.94, which tells us he is MASSIVELY overperforming in front of goal, even more so than Bryan Mbeumo at Brentford last season
Again, because he hasn’t played too many minutes, he hasn’t taken too many shots. Junior Kroupi’s six goals have come from just 17 shots, ten of which have been on target. That’s a very impressive ratio.
Unfortunately, unless your name is Lionel Messi and you’re a complete statistical anomaly, it is incredibly unlikely that the striker can keep this form up. Of course, we can’t say that for certain, Kroupi Junior might turn out to be the next Messi, if any Bournemouth fans are reading this, don’t get your hopes up.
Verdict
Kroupi Junior will score some important goals between now and the end of the season for Bournemouth, but they cannot rely on him to turn their terrible run of form around. Andoni Iraola would be better off addressing their incredibly high defensive line rather than put all his eggs in the youngster’s basket.