Wanted for his enormous potential and valued at a fortune by his club, Bournemouth’s young French-Ivorian striker Eli Junior Kroupi has made a decision on his international future.

Despite his family ties to Ivory Coast, he has shown a clear preference for the France national team, a choice he justifies partly through his career path and the cultural environment in which he grew up.

Ivory Coast will have to do without one of the most promising attacking talents of his generation. At just 20, the Premier League forward, whom Bournemouth priced at more than £85m (€100m) in the last transfer window, expressed an unequivocal preference for France in an interview with DAZN.

Eli Junior Kroupi prefers France to Ivory Coast

The youngster scored 13 goals in 35 Premier League matches last season for Bournemouth. Injured since the start of the new campaign, the former Lorient player is currently close to returning.

‘I have always played for France’s youth teams. I was born in France, I started playing football in France. I cannot see myself going to a culture I do not know. The France national team is my goal,’ the striker told DAZN.

Kroupi is one of the standout performers for Bournemouth, the Premier League sensation. Asked about a possible call-up to the senior team, the young striker joked: ‘I have no idea!’

The answer may upset some Ivorians, but his choice is hardly surprising. Born and trained in France, Kroupi has built his entire international career in France’s youth ranks. His development also puts him alongside Yan Diomande and Ayyoub Bouaddi in the race for the 2026 Golden Boy award.

Kroupi’s family ties to Ivory Coast

His father, Eli Kroupi, is from Sassandra, in the Gbokle region of Ivory Coast. He moved to France at a very young age and built his entire professional career in the country, winning only two caps for Ivory Coast between 2001 and 2005.

Even so, the Bournemouth forward’s talent would be a significant boost for the Ivory Coast national team. His goal is now clearly defined: to convince Zinedine Zidane to open the doors of the France senior team.

It is a stated sporting and personal choice, although his international future is not necessarily set in stone until he plays an official match for the France senior side that binds him to the country under Fifa rules.