Eric Bocat

Eric Junior Bocat (born 16 July 1999) is a French professional footballer who plays as a left-back for EFL Championship club Stoke City.

Eric Bocat

Personal information
Full name	Eric-Junior Doriane Magate Kom Baga Bocat[1][2]
Date of birth	(1999-07-16) 16 July 1999 (age 26)[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	31	(0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 18:22, 16 August 2025 (UTC)

Career

Early career

Bocat 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

Bocat 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

After 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

On 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 it was 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] Bocat had a stop-start first season in English football, making 34 appearances in 2024–25, as Stoke avoided relegation on the final day.^[14][15][16]

Personal life

Born in France, Bocat is of Central African and Senegalese descent.^[17]

Career statistics

As of match played 16 August 2025

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

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	30	0	0	0	4	0	—		34	0
	2025–26[2]	Championship	1	0	0	0	1	0	—		2	0
	Total		31	0	0	0	5	0	—		36	0
Career total			178	3	8	0	5	0	0	0	191	3

1. Includes Belgian Cup, Coupe de France and FA Cup
2. Includes Coupe de la Ligue and EFL Cup