Eric-Junior Bocat: Stoke left-back linked with 1. FC Koln switch

French-Senegalese defender Eric-Junior Bocat is being linked with a move from Stoke City to 1. FC Koln in the Bundesliga.

Bocat, 27, joined Stoke from Belgian side Sint-Truiden for €1.5m in July 2024 and has a contract with the Championship club until June 2028. The left-back has started both of Stoke’s Championship matches this season, scoring once, and also completed the full 90 minutes in their EFL Cup fixture.

The potential move would see Bocat leave England for Germany after two years at Stoke. He had previously spent two seasons with Sint-Truiden, having moved there from Mouscron on a free transfer in 2022.

Bocat began his senior career in France with the reserve sides of Dijon, Brest and Lille before joining Mouscron in 2020. He was born in Paris and holds French and Senegalese nationality.

His current market value is listed at €2.2m, while Stoke remain under no immediate contractual pressure to sell given the length of his existing deal. The reported interest from Koln comes as Bocat has established himself in Stoke’s starting line-up at the beginning of the 2026-27 campaign.