Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 25, 2026

Eric Bocat

Eric-Junior Doriane Magate Kom Baga Bocat is a French professional footballer who plays as a left-back for EFL Championship club Stoke City.

Last revised
Jul 25, 2026
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≈ 4 min
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Eric Bocat
Bocat in 2025
Personal information
Full name Eric-Junior Doriane Magate Kom Baga Bocat12
Date of birth (1999-07-16) 16 July 19992
Place of birth Paris, France2
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)2
Position Left-back3
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 59 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 13:45, 2 May 2026 (UTC)

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

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,1011 reported to be around €1.5 million, plus €500,000 in add-ons,12 signing a four-year deal.1011 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.141516 In the 2025–26 season, Bocat had competition for the left-back spot from the experienced Aaron Cresswell and was linked with a return to Belgium.1718

Personal life

Born in France, Bocat is of Central African and Senegalese descent.19

Career statistics

As of match played 2 May 2026
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cupa League cupb Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Dijon B 2017–182 Championnat National 3 11 0 — — — 11 0
Brest B 2018–192 Championnat National 3 24 0 — — — 24 0
Lille B 2019–202 Championnat National 2 20 0 — — — 20 0
Lille 2019–202 Ligue 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Mouscron 2020–212 Belgian First Division A 8 0 1 0 — — 9 0
2021–222 Belgian First Division B 25 1 2 0 — — 27 1
Total 33 1 3 0 — — 36 1
Sint-Truiden 2022–232 Belgian Pro League 22 0 3 0 — — 25 0
2023–242 Belgian Pro League 37 2 1 0 — — 38 2
Total 59 2 4 0 — — 63 2
Stoke City 2024–252 Championship 30 0 0 0 4 0 — 34 0
2025–262 Championship 29 0 1 0 2 0 — 32 0
Total 59 0 1 0 6 0 — 66 0
Career total 206 3 9 0 6 0 0 0 221 3
References

References

  1. "EFL- Squad list 2024/25" (PDF). English Football League. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  2. Eric Bocat at Soccerway. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  3. Eric Bocat at WorldFootball.net
  4. "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.
  5. "Fourth-tier Epinal topple Lille". Dawn. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
  6. "ÉRIC BOCAT LEAVES FOR MOUSCRON". Lille OSC (in French). Retrieved 27 June 2024.
  7. "Down and out Mouscron files for bankruptcy". Inside World Football. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
  8. "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.
  9. "Stoke city sign Sint-Truiden's unsung hero from the past two seasons". getfootballnewsbene.com. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
  10. "Potters bag Bocat". Stoke City F.C. 26 June 2024. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
  11. "Stoke City sign French defender Eric Bocat on four-year deal". BBC Sport. 26 June 2024. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
  12. 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.
  13. 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.
  14. "Stoke City end of season player ratings from sustained excellence to won't be seen again". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 15 May 2025.
  15. "Derby County 0–0 Stoke City: Both teams survive after goalless draw". Sky Sports. Retrieved 8 May 2025.
  16. "Derby County 0–0 Stoke City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 May 2025.
  17. "Stoke City bench-warmer 'number one target' for European club". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
  18. "Stoke City 2025/26 squad review - keep, sell, loan, return or buy". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
  19. "Le piston français Eric Bocat (Saint-Trond) a la cote • Actufoot • Actu du foot pro/amateur".