Photographer Sebastien Salom-Gomis Publication AFP
Eli Junior Kroupi: Introducing Lorient's Next Gem
Eli Junior Kroupi is Lorient’s new golden boy. Born and raised in Brittany, he is Lorient through and through - and that is in no part down to his father, Eli Senior, having plied his trade for Les Merlus for four years in the early 2000s.…
Eli Junior Kroupi is Lorient’s new golden boy.
Born and raised in Brittany, he is Lorient through and through - and that is in no part down to his father, Eli Senior, having plied his trade for Les Merlus for four years in the early 2000s. Eli Junior worked his way through the youth ranks and scored an impressive 9 goals in 18 games for Lorient’s B side in both 2021/22 and 2022/23, featuring more prolifically in the latter season.
This gave him a goal every 106 minutes - and at only 16 years of age at the time, this caught the attention of Lorient manager Régis Le Bris. This culminated in Kroupi being given his Lorient debut at the tail end of last season, coming on for 7 minutes in a 2-1 win against Strasbourg.
Credits
Words
Jude Short