Kroupi eyes EPL success after rocky start

LONDON: Bournemouth starlet Eli Junior Kroupi may have already put a difficult start to Premier League life behind him, but the 19-year-old told AEP he knows that he will have to “work hard” to make a success of his time in England.

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The Brittany-born, childhood Liverpool fan made his Bournemouth debut on a season-opening trip to Anfield for a clash with the champions in August.

“I was like a kid living in a dream,” Kroupi said. “It was really wonderful for me, and for my parents too.”

He played just one minute as a substitute. After manager Andoni Iraola gave the teenager a paltry 11 minutes in total over the next four league matches, Kroupi said that he “even thought about leaving”.

A conversation with his father — ex-Ivory Coast international Eli Kroupi — convinced the teenager to dig in to realise his dream. “Running away from a problem wasn’t the right solution,’ he said. “My father encouraged me to stay and work twice as hard”

Within a month, the forward had scored four goals in three matches against Leeds, FA Cup winners Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest.

“I managed to turn things around,” he said.

His first, a 93rd-minute equaliser in a 2-2 draw at Elland Road, showed the French youth international’s knack for making an impact in key moments.