Liverpool fans should be carefully watching Bournemouth ‘phenomenon’ set to make Premier League debut

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Liverpool are heavy favourites to beat Bournemouth in the Premier League’s opening game of the 2025/26 season.

The Reds are entering the campaign as champions in front of an Anfield crowd for the first time since 1990.

How they deal with that pressure remains to be seen, but for now at least, Liverpool are the hot tip to make it back-to-back titles under Arne Slot.

Fans would be wrong to discount Bournemouth at Anfield on Friday night, however. The Cherries finished ninth in the Premier League under Andoni Iraola last term and will have their eyes on getting into Europe this time around.

Unfortunately, they have been ransacked in the transfer market, with Liverpool taking Milos Kerkez, and a number of other players making high profile exits.

Nevertheless, as usual, Bournemouth have done some smart business, and Reds fans would be wise to keep a very close eye on one young star making his Premier League debut at Anfield.

Eli Junior Kroupi set to catch Liverpool’s attention

It should be no surprise to Liverpool fans by now that Bournemouth’s transfer strategy was spot on over recent seasons. They did have Richard Hughes at the helm after all.

While that is no longer the case, the Cherries have seemingly continued Hughes’ knack of picking up extremely talented young players on the cheap.

In February Bournemouth signed Lorient forward Eli Junior Kroupi for around £10m.

The 19-year-old spent the remainder of the season winning Ligue 2 on loan with Lorient, topping the division’s scoring charts with 22 goals.

READ MORE: Andoni Iraola confirms he’ll be without ‘amazing’ Bournemouth player against Liverpool

Now a fully-fledged Bournemouth player, Kroupi will be aiming to catch Liverpool cold with a first Premier League outing on Friday night.

As the Reds look to redress their forward line in the coming windows, the teenager should be one to watch as the season gets underway.

Kroupi is a ‘phenomenon’ likened to Kylian Mbappe

It is always a gamble when signing young players like Kroupi from lesser leagues. However, Bournemouth’s track record would suggest there will be confidence the youngster can deliver.

Speaking about Kroupi when he was just 17, former Chelsea midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko labelled him a ‘phenomenon.’

“He reminds me a little of Kylian Mbappe in terms of the maturity of his game,” Bakayoko said via GOAL.

Given Bakayoko played alongside an emerging Mbappe at Monaco, that is high praise for a player who looks like he could reach the top of the game.

Although he already has plenty of supporters in France, Friday will be Kroupi’s first chance to take his talents to a wider audience. If he can make an impression at Anfield, Liverpool and their fans will no doubt be taking note.