Stoke City are advancing in talks to sign French free-agent forward Jeremy Livolant following his departure from Bordeaux due to the club’s financial difficulties.
That is according to TEAMtalk, who report that the 26-year-old is currently at the Potters’ training centre going over contract details, as talks between the respective parties push ahead.
The same report states that nothing is completed as yet, but Stoke are in a very strong position to complete the deal, despite apparent interest from Sheffield Wednesday being revealed by transfer journalist Darren Witcoop earlier today.
Livolant can play anywhere across the forward line, and was with Bordeaux in Ligue 2 for just one season after joining from Guingamp last summer for a reported fee of €1.2m.
He registered five goals and five assists for the French giants in his debut campaign, but saw his contract terminated in the post-season after the club renounced their professional status due to financial distress.
Livolant’s career so far
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The Brittany-born forward came through the ranks at Guingamp, and was highly-rated in his home country as a youth player after featuring 11 times at under-16, four times at under-19 and once at under-20 level for the France national sides between 2013 and 2017.
He first properly broke through in senior football out on loan at U.S. Boulogne in the Championnat National, the third tier of French football, in the 2017/18 campaign as he netted five goals and notched four assists in 34 appearances in all competitions, with his good performances seeing him join LB Châteauroux on loan in Ligue 2 for 2018/19.
Livolant’s first foray into professional men’s football saw him mainly used as a substitute for La Berrichonne, but he did manage to register four goals and two assists in 33 appearances and 17 starts across the season.
He ventured out on loan from Guingamp again for the 2019/20 campaign, this time to FC Sochaux where he managed to bag four goals and four assists and proved his credentials in the second-tier to finally be included in the Guingamp first team for 2020/21.
Livolant made 117 appearances in all competitions for his boyhood club across three seasons, and was handed the captaincy for the 2022/23 campaign as he registered nine goals and 11 assists in 40 games to earn a move to Bordeaux last summer.
The 26-year-old was an ever-present last season under David Guion and Albert Riera, as he netted six goals and laid on seven assists in 42 games in all competitions and Bordeaux finished 12th in Ligue 2, but disaster struck after the campaign as the club hit a financial crisis.
The French giants have since been made to turn semi-professional, and so administratively relegated to the Championnat National 2 for the new season, with all of their senior players like Livolant left to find new clubs.
Livolant would be a smart signing for the Potters
Steven Schumacher Stoke City
Stoke are ramping up their transfer business after a quiet few weeks, and Livolant would be Steven Schumacher’s fifth signing of the summer after Viktor Johansson, Eric Bocat, Ben Gibson and Sam Gallagher all arrived in the Potteries from Rotherham United, Sint-Truiden, Norwich City and Blackburn Rovers respectively.
The Potters are yet to bolster their wide forward options, and currently have the likes of Million Manhoef, Bae Jun-ho, Andre Vidigal and Mehdi Leris as their wing options heading into the new season.
Schumacher is understandably after more firepower in his attack, after a lacklustre 2023/24 season in front of goal where his side were the sixth-lowest scorers in the second-tier, albeit he only took over in December and there was a noticeable increase in attacking output from that point on.
Livolant would not only add pace and trickery to his ranks, but also versatility in being able to play anywhere in midfield, at left-back and also across the forward line, which is a key asset to have in a long-winded Championship season, and especially important given Schumacher’s hunt for a new striker to complement Gallagher’s playing style.
