Speaking after FC Lorient’s 3-3 draw against Olympique Lyonnais Tiémoué Bakayoko (29) likened teammate Eli Junior Kroupi (17) to Kylian Mbappé (24).
France U17 international Kroupi has burst onto the scene this season. During the last campaign, he made just one first-team appearance for the first-team, amassing a meagre seven minutes in Ligue 1. However, he has featured in Lorient’s last seven games in Ligue 1 this season, and he already has five goal involvements in just four starts for Les Merlus.
At 17 years and 92 days old, he became the club’s youngest-ever goalscorer in Ligue 1 when he scored against FC Nantes, and he became the youngest player since Bernard Zénier in 1974 to score a brace when he netted twice against Lyon last weekend. Kroupi’s performance against Lyon drew high praise from teammate Bakayoko, who joined the club on a free transfer this summer.
“He’s a phenomenon. He reminds me a little of Kylian Mbappé in terms of the maturity of his game. He already has good stats for a youngster his age,” said Bakayoko in an interview transcribed by Ligue1.com.
GFFN | Luke Entwistle
