Antoine Semenyo (£7.8m) was the latest name to leave Bournemouth’s conveyor belt for global giants. Stepping on it are the young duo of Rayan Vitor (£5.5m) and Alex Toth (£5.0m).
The former is a 19-year-old Brazilian, costing an initial £24.7m from Vasco da Gama. The latter is aged 20 and required another £10.4m to go towards Hungarian side Ferencvaros.
Further affected by injuries to Justin Kluivert (£7.0m), Marcus Tavernier (£5.4m) and Tyler Adams (£4.9m), the Cherries could even add more names before the transfer window closes on Monday.
So, can these attackers settle quickly, and what impact will they have in Fantasy Premier League (FPL)?
We’ll attempt to answer those questions below.
WHO ARE RAYAN + TOTH?
Some huge clubs were pipped to the signing of Rayan. A 2023 senior debut at 16 years and 169 days made him the youngest player in Vasco’s history, and he went on to score 20 goals in 57 appearances during a breakout 2025.
Both skinny and strong, Rayan is fast, leading some back in Brazil to think he’ll be the next Estevao (£6.4m). But perhaps former Inter striker Adriano is a more accurate comparison. If he turns into the Pro Evo 6 version, Bournemouth will be in dreamland.
Remember Robbie Keane? Well, he arrived at Ferencvaros last January and quickly saw potential in Toth.
In the second half of 2024/25, Toth started playing alongside Naby Keita in midfield. Two goals and eight assists in 15 starts helped the Budapest club secure a seventh successive league title.
He has since gone on to score past Qarabag in the Champions League qualifiers, grab another three attacking returns and gain nine caps for Hungary.
HOW DO THEY FIT IN AT BOURNEMOUTH?
The Cherries love to develop youngsters before making a huge profit. Add Illya Zabarnyi, Dean Huijsen, Dango Ouattara (£5.8m), Nathan Ake (£5.3m), Dominic Solanke (£7.2m) and Milos Kerkez (£5.6m) to the Semenyo sale.
So they’re smart when making investments; there’s a plan in place.
Two-footed Toth is good at pressing. He came on against Liverpool, but it’s hard to read into that small cameo. Instead, head coach Andoni Iraola’s words hint that he sees Toth as a central midfielder.
“Ideally, he’s a number eight. But when you are a number eight, you have to sometimes defend as a six and attack as a number ten. So, I think he is ready to adapt to any of the three positions. But obviously once we have the player, we see him playing and we see him training, probably we will try to find his best position.” – Andoni Iraola on Alex Toth’s ideal position
When speaking to the BBC, Hungarian football journalist Bence Bocsak also calls Toth a ‘number eight’, though there’s enough versatility for him to evolve in these new surroundings.
“He can play as a number eight, he can be a box-to-box player, but he has played as a holding player in the past. I don’t think he’s going to be a destroyer type, and as a holding midfielder he’s more of a deep-lying creator. And he can also play more advanced as a number ten.
“He’s played all of those roles for Ferencvaros, but more importantly he’s played all those roles for the Hungary national team, against Portugal and other big nations.” – Bence Bocsak
As for Rayan, he’s mainly a right-sided attacker who cuts in on his left foot. But he’s increasingly being used through the middle as a centre-forward.
“He’s tall, quick, left-footed, strikes the ball well, and he’s started getting into the box and scoring with his head. He can play wide, as a false nine, as a number nine, or on the other flank. And I really like him as a person too.” – Vasco head coach Fernando Diniz
Hopefully, an easing into Premier League life will indicate what Iraola thinks he is. You’d imagine it’d be better to slowly introduce him from a wide position, rather than ruthlessly throwing him in as a striker.
Above: Opta Analyst showing the positions of Rayan’s 2025 shots
Is Rayan a direct replacement for Semenyo? The new Manchester City signing is a shot-machine, racking up the third-most attempts of last season (125), and he’s currently third for putting them on target this time (29).
Similarly, FBref says Rayan ended the 2025 Brazilian Série A campaign in second place.
However, while Semenyo is a dribbler, this teenager is more about raw physical power than stepovers.
And, of course, there are still a couple of weaknesses that need developing. It’s said that he sometimes switches off a bit, and South American expert Tim Vickery thinks he needs to improve with his back to goal. In fact, there’s also a worry that he’s departing one year too soon.
WHERE HAS KROUPI BEEN PLAYING?
At a time when 3-5-2 and 4-4-2 are popular FPL formations, a cheap forward who regularly plays, like Eli Junior Kroupi (£4.6m), is a piece of gold. He’s netted seven times in this half-season, which only eight forwards can beat.
A lot of managers want him now, for Bournemouth’s highly attractive run of opponents. They top our Fixture Ticker over the next eight Gameweeks.
Of all players with more than one strike to his name, just Erling Haaland (£15.0m) has a better rate than Kroupi’s 109.3 minutes per goal.
He’s on three starts in a row, but will this continue once Bournemouth stop buying players? And where will he play?
Usually a centre-forward, he’s occasionally named in lineups instead of Evanilson (£7.0m), although the Brazilian has three goals in four games. It’s a productive period where Kroupi has been starting further back, as an attacking midfielder.
Above: Statsbomb says almost all of Kroupi’s league starts have been either up front, or as a ‘number ten’
Iraola instantly put him in Kluivert’s position, and the Dutchman is out for another few months. But there’s now the option of either Toth playing there, or using the Hungarian in the engine room to allow Alex Scott (£5.0m) to move upfield.
Looking around, Amine Adli‘s (£5.4m) latest starts have been exclusively on the left wing, David Brooks (£5.0m) could make Gameweek 24 and is mostly on the right, whereas Iraola ideally wants Alex Jimenez (£4.5m) back in his defence.
“I think he has done a very good job as a winger. You know, I prefer him as a full-back, but I think he’s in this moment helping us a lot a little bit forward and he’s good.” – Andoni Iraola on Alex Jimenez
The hardest one to call is Tavernier, whose versatility mixes appearances on the right, with some as a ‘number eight’ or a ‘number ten’. Once the 26-year-old recovers in late February, he could go anywhere.
So while Kroupi is currently doing well as a second striker, this might not last beyond a few more matches. And he’s unlikely to displace in-form Evanilson in the position where Iraola prefers him.
“I think if you ask me what is his position, I think he’s a striker. But it’s true that he has played with us some games as kind of a second striker. He has played with the France U21s, a little bit outside. But he’s a striker for me, his best attributes. He is going to be a number nine for me.
“I’m happy with his development and I think he can play in this kind of second striker, offensive number ten, if you want, with us. But he’s always played as number nine.” – Andoni Iraola on Eli Junior Kroupi
Alternatively, if Rayan isn’t a direct Semenyo replacement on the left, maybe Kroupi will turn out to be. After all, he plays there for France Under-21s and tends to lean in that direction for his club.
There’s not a lot of competition in that spot, but assuming he’ll soon move there is pure guesswork.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Bournemouth suffered a terrible 11-match winless slump until the last three outings, where relocating Kroupi behind Evanilson almost brought a trio of victories. A stoppage-time overhead kick is all that denied them.
Therefore, Iraola has no immediate reason to change this combination. This is good for Kroupi, although the youngster repeatedly coming off around the 60-70 minute mark is less so. Also slightly off-putting are the complications of new arrivals, plus Tavernier’s eventual return. In summary, he’s probably fine in the short term, but it becomes murkier in the medium-to-long term.
For Rayan and Toth, it’s just a question of how long their adaptation periods will be. We’ll be keeping an eye on Toth’s position in the coming weeks, and whether Rayan does indeed go to the right flank. The latter is certainly one we’ll be monitoring, given his Semenyo-esque, shot-happy approach at Vasco.
