Is the reign of Haaland as the Premier League’s deadliest finisher over?

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 11 Feb 2026 07:35 CST
• 5 min read

Analysis

Erling Haaland’s status as the Premier League’s deadliest striker is being challenged by rising Bournemouth star Eli Junior Kroupi, who is developing into a finisher to watch under Andoni Iraola.

Haaland may be running away with the Golden Boot once again, having scored 21 goals in the Premier League so far this season, but he could soon be looking over his shoulder towards the 19-year-old Frenchman, who has defied expectations this season.

Indeed, such have been the quality of Kroupi’s performances that Liverpool and Chelsea are closely following his development from within the Premier League, with PSG and Real Madrid also monitoring him closely.

Compared

Eli Kroupi

F (C)

B'mouth

Eli Kroupi

F (C)

B'mouth

VS

Erling Haaland

F (C)

Man City

Erling Haaland

F (C)

Man City

€19.5M	ETV	€150.9M
€17.5M - €21.4M	ETV Range	€135.8M - €166M
19 years old (23 Jun, 2006)	Age	25 years old (21 Jul, 2000)
France	Nationality	Norway

Less than a year after recruiting the striker from Lorient, Bournemouth may be pressed into another sale – although this is likely to come at huge profit.

Kroupi was signed for €13 million but has seen his Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) leap to €19.5m - and the Cherries will hope to drive that figure up for one of the most-hyped youngsters in the Premier League this season. Indeed, there is already talk of a €50m sale.

What makes Kroupi special?

Kroupi has been likened to Neymar in terms of his style, and in an interview with Onze from December 2024, he admitted that the Brazil forward is his role model.

“I always watched him,” he explained. “And of course, my father showed me what he did.

“I’ve tried to learn from what all the great strikers do: Karim Benzema, Robert Lewandowski. I watched their runs and everything else they did. I mixed everyone together, adding a dose of what I know how to do at the end.”

His flair and imagination on the ball are evident, while he does not shirk his defensive work.

Indeed, he has not always been used as a pure forward by Bournemouth this season, often operating just behind that role and to the left – the type of area that Neymar became famed for playing in.

Little wonder Liverpool and Chelsea, among others, have taken note.

The numbers that have caught the eye of Europe’s best

Kroupi’s numbers in front of goal have been formidable this season – and in many regards he is outperforming Haaland, the striker who has been the benchmark player since arriving at Manchester City in the summer of 2022.

The Frenchman might only have eight Premier League goals to his credit this season, but these have been scored in 876 minutes, according to WyScout. Without having scored a penalty, he has 0.82 goals per 90 minutes.

Haaland, meanwhile, has 21 strikes but these have come in 2316. Three have been penalties. Exclude these and he has only scored 0.77 goals per 90.

Unsurprisingly, this pair are the standard-setters in this regard in the Premier League.

This is particularly impressive given that Kroupi is playing for a side that does not typically dominate games – certainly not in the way that City do.

His strikes have come from 25 shots – giving him a conversion rate of 32% - while Haaland has scored 23.3% of his efforts.

Kroupi also outperforms Haaland in terms of xG. His goals have been scored from just 4.02xG, showing he is scoring more goals than might be expected. It’s a small sample size, but it points towards his promise.

Haaland, by contrast, has 21 goals from 20.15xG – still an impressive return.

Eli Junior Kroupi: Sustained brilliance or a flash in the pan?

There is no doubt that Kroupi’s performances have seen him earmarked as a player to watch, yet his impact in the Premier League has been produced only over a short period of time. Understandably, there are questions to be answered over how sustainable this form is – yet these will only come over time.

What evidence there is, though, is positive. While playing with Lorient last season, he scored 22 goals from 17.04xG, and now in a more unforgiving league, he is in the process of replicating such form.

This points to a technically gifted finisher with a cool head in front of goal.

With Liverpool, Chelsea, PSG and Real Madrid all tracking him, the coming weeks will go a long way to defining his immediate future and his price tag.

Haaland has not been dethroned yet, but he could soon have a new major challenger.