New Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola gave a public transfer instruction to Eli Junior Kroupi before links with the Reds and various other major clubs around Europe
15:22, 08 Jun 2026
Andoni Iraola and Eli Junior Kroupi during the Premier League match between Fulham and Bournemouth.
Andoni Iraola and Eli Junior Kroupi during the Premier League match between Fulham and Bournemouth.(Image: Rob Newell - CameraSport via Getty Images)
Bournemouth forward Eli Junior Kroupi has only been in the Premier League for 12 months, but the 19-year-old Frenchman is already drawing admiring glances from the best clubs in Europe.
Signed from Lorient for a fee of just $13 million (£10 million) last summer, Junior Kroupi scored 13 goals in the Premier League in his debut campaign in England. Under Andoni Iraola, Kroupi really excelled.
Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal have all been linked with moves for Kroupi heading into this window, while PSG is another side that has been mentioned. Bournemouth wants to keep the striker and values him at well over $100M.
"Junior has been a big challenge for me this season; one of the biggest challenges because we noticed straightaway that he has special things," Iraola said in April.
"His finishing is top for me. But we had to work a lot with him and, especially, he has had to do a lot of work that he wasn’t used to (in order to) win his minutes.
"He has become a much better player for me. I know he had a good start and scored goals, but I try not to talk to him about goals because this is something that is natural and he will always have it.
Eli Junior Kroupi of Bournemouth smiles
Eli Junior Kroupi is wanted by several clubs across Europe(Image: Photo by Eddie Keogh/Getty Images)
"So, I have tried to make him focus on other parts and he has improved a lot. In the past month, he has allowed us to put out a very offensive line-up because he is giving us the work rate so we can keep it all together and not suffer defensively too much.
"He’s still very young and has just arrived into the Premier League and it’s his first season. For sure, I think he will play even more minutes next season and will continue evolving.
"He has a high ceiling but I think this is the best place for him to continue his evolution."
That kind of message will be something conveyed to Liverpool players next term. Getting into Iraola's team requires a strong work ethic and plenty of pressing.
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The likes of Florian Wirtz, who was superb in his off-the-ball work in Germany, should benefit from there being a more intense attacking unit in the final third.
Liverpool will bring in more quality in wide areas ahead of next season, but those players will not just be creators and goalscorers — they will need to be good at hunting the ball too.
Liverpool.com says: Kroupi is clearly an excellent player, but spending so much money on someone so young, with a relatively small sample size of evidence of how he will become, would be a risk.
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The same logic would apply to any move for Yan Diomande at RB Leipzig. He is the same age and has one top season under his belt, but is already being talked about as a $150 million (£112 million) player.