Eric Junior Bocat (born 16 July 1999) is a French professional footballer who plays as a left-back for EFL Championship club Stoke City.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Eric-Junior Doriane Magate Kom Baga Bocat[1][2] | ||
| Date of birth | 16 July 1999[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Paris, France[2] | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Left-back[3] | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Stoke City | ||
| Number | 17 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2009–2014 | Val d'Europe | ||
| 2015–2017 | US Torcy | ||
| 2017–2018 | Dijon | ||
| 2018–2019 | Brest | ||
| 2019–2020 | Lille | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2017–2018 | Dijon B | 11 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | Brest B | 24 | (0) |
| 2019–2020 | Lille B | 20 | (0) |
| 2020 | Lille | 0 | (0) |
| 2020–2022 | Mouscron | 33 | (1) |
| 2022–2024 | Sint-Truiden | 59 | (2) |
| 2024– | Stoke City | 12 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:27, 2 November 2024 (UTC) | |||
Career
editEarly career
editBocat was born in Paris and began playing football with youth teams Val d'Europe and US Torcy in Seine-et-Marne before joining the Dijon academy. He made eleven appearances for Dijon's B team in 2017–18 and 24 appearances for Brest's B team in 2018–19 before he joined Lille in August 2019.[4] Bocat played for Lille's B team 20 times in the Championnat National 2 during the 2019–20 campaign and made his senior debut in a Coupe de France round of 16 tie against SAS Épinal which ended in a shock 2–1 defeat.[5]
Mouscron
editBocat left Lille on 1 August 2020 and signed for Belgian top flight club Mouscron.[6] He only made nine appearances in 2020–21 as Mouscron suffered relegation to the First Division B amid severe financial problems.[2] He was a regular in 2021–22, playing 27 times as Mouscron's situation worsened and they were declared bankrupt at the end of the season.[7]
Sint-Truiden
editAfter two seasons at Mouscron, Bocat signed for Belgian Pro League side Sint-Truiden in July 2022.[8] In his first season at Stayen, Bocat made 25 appearances as Sint-Truiden finished in a mid-table position of 12th. In 2023–24, Bocat only missed three games as the team had a decent campaign, finishing ninth and competed in the European play-offs.[9]
Stoke City
editOn 26 June 2024, Bocat joined English Championship side Stoke City for an undisclosed fee,[10][11] reported to be around €1.5 million, plus €500,000 in add-ons,[12] signing a four-year deal.[10][11] Following the announcement of the transfer, the Potters' manager Steven Schumacher revealed that they had looked into signing the defender the previous transfer window, instead using the budget to prioritise the signing of a forward player, Million Manhoef.[13]
Personal life
editBorn in France, Bocat is of Central African Republic and Senegalese descent.[14]
Career statistics
edit- As of match played 2 November 2024
| Club | Season | League | National Cup[a] | League Cup[b] | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Dijon B | 2017–18[2] | Championnat National 3 | 11 | 0 | — | — | — | 11 | 0 | |||
| Brest B | 2018–19[2] | Championnat National 3 | 24 | 0 | — | — | — | 24 | 0 | |||
| Lille B | 2019–20[2] | Championnat National 2 | 20 | 0 | — | — | — | 20 | 0 | |||
| Lille | 2019–20[2] | Ligue 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Mouscron | 2020–21[2] | Belgian First Division A | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 0 | ||
| 2021–22[2] | Belgian First Division B | 25 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 27 | 1 | |||
| Total | 33 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 36 | 1 | ||||
| Sint-Truiden | 2022–23[2] | Belgian Pro League | 22 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 25 | 0 | ||
| 2023–24[2] | Belgian Pro League | 37 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 38 | 2 | |||
| Total | 59 | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 63 | 2 | ||||
| Stoke City | 2024–25[2] | Championship | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 16 | 0 | |
| Career total | 159 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 171 | 3 | ||
- ^ Includes Belgian Cup, Coupe de France and FA Cup
- ^ Includes Coupe de la Ligue and EFL Cup
References
edit- ^ "EFL- Squad list 2024/25" (PDF). English Football League. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Eric Bocat at Soccerway. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
- ^ Eric Bocat at WorldFootball.net
- ^ "Football : Eric Bocat (ex Val d'Europe) signe au LOSC" [Football: Eric Bocat (ex Val d’Europe) signs for LOSC]. Actu.fr (in French). Retrieved 26 June 2024.
- ^ "Fourth-tier Epinal topple Lille". Dawn. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
- ^ "ÉRIC BOCAT LEAVES FOR MOUSCRON". Lille OSC (in French). Retrieved 27 June 2024.
- ^ "Down and out Mouscron files for bankruptcy". Inside World Football. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
- ^ "Après deux saisons passées à Mouscron, Eric Bocat rejoint Saint-Trond" [After two seasons spent in Mouscron, Eric Bocat joins Saint-Trond]. sudinfo.be (in French). Retrieved 27 June 2024.
- ^ "Stoke city sign Sint-Truiden's unsung hero from the past two seasons". getfootballnewsbene.com. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
- ^ a b "Potters bag Bocat". www.stokecityfc.com. 26 June 2024. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
- ^ a b "Stoke City sign French defender Eric Bocat on four-year deal". BBC Sport. 26 June 2024. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
- ^ Prévot, Tom (22 June 2024). "Mercato : pisté par des clubs de Ligue 1, Eric Bocat (Saint-Trond) va s'engager à Stoke City". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 27 June 2024.
- ^ Smith, Peter (26 June 2024). "Boss explains Eric Bocat transfer as Stoke City move to resolve left-back situation". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
- ^ "Le piston français Eric Bocat (Saint-Trond) a la cote • Actufoot • Actu du foot pro/amateur".