John Joseph Bostock (born 15 January 1992) is an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for club Solihull Moors. Bostock made his professional debut for Crystal Palace at the age of 15. In 2008, he signed for

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

for an initial £700,000. He played only four games for Tottenham, none of which were in the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

, spending most of his time on loan at various clubs in the

English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

, and later with

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...

. In 2013, Bostock was released and moved to Belgium, representing Royal Antwerp and

OH Leuven Oh, OH, or Oh! is an interjection, often proclaiming surprise (emotion), surprise. It may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Albums * Oh! (Girls' Generation album), ''Oh!'' (Girls' Generation album), 2010 * Oh! (ScoLoHoFo album), ''Oh!'' (S ...

. In summer 2016, he joined French side

Lens A lens is a transmissive optical device that focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements'') ...

where he stayed for one and a half seasons. Born in England, Bostock represented the country up to under-19 level. In 2016, he chose to represent his ancestral

Trinidad & Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several smaller islets. The capital city is Port of Spai ...

at full international level, although he has yet to appear for them.

Club career

Crystal Palace

Bostock began his career with Crystal Palace at the age of five. At the age of 14 he was offered a contract by Spanish club

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

. Bostock made his league debut on 29 October 2007 at the age of 15 years and 287 days, playing 20 minutes as a substitute for Ben Watson in a 2–0 defeat to

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

Selhurst Park Selhurst Park is a football stadium in Selhurst, in the London Borough of Croydon, England, which is the home ground of Premier League club Crystal Palace. The stadium was designed by Archibald Leitch and opened in 1924. It has hosted interna ...

, making him Palace's youngest ever player. He also became the youngest ever Palace player to start a game, aged 15 years and 295 days, on 6 November 2007 against

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

Ninian Park Ninian Park was a association football, football stadium in the Leckwith, Cardiff, Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales, that was the home of Cardiff City F.C. for 99 years. Opened in 1910 with a single wooden stand, it underwent numerous renovatio ...

Tottenham Hotspur

On 30 May 2008,

announced the signing of Bostock on their club website. Crystal Palace later issued a statement denying reports that an agreement had been reached with Tottenham. Tottenham and Crystal Palace entered negotiations over the transfer fee, but agreement could not be reached, leading to the sum being decided at a tribunal. On 9 July, the tribunal declared that Tottenham would pay £700,000 for Bostock, with add-on payments of up to £1.25m dependent on appearances and a further £200,000 should he make his full international debut. A sell-on clause entitled Crystal Palace to 15% of any profit Tottenham makes from any future sale of Bostock's contract. Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan said he was so disgusted with Bostock and his stepfather that he intended to revoke and refund their Selhurst Park season tickets for 2008–09, which the pair had already purchased. Bostock made his first team debut for Spurs in an 8–0 pre-season win over Spanish side Tavernes, providing the cross for Aaron Lennon's opening goal. On 6 November 2008, he made his competitive match debut in the 2008 UEFA Cup game against

Dinamo Zagreb Građanski nogometni klub Dinamo Zagreb (), commonly referred to as simply Dinamo Zagreb (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. Dinamo play their home matches at Stadion Maksimir. They are the most successful club in Cr ...

, coming on as a substitute, and becoming the youngest player ever to play for Spurs at 16 years, 295 days, just beating the previous record-holder Ally Dick by six days. Bostock made a further two appearances in the UEFA Cup that season, however his career with Tottenham stalled after that and had to wait until January 2012 for his next appearance, in an

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

match against

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1887, ...

Loan spells

On 13 November 2009, Bostock joined League One club

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

on loan for a month, he was handed the number 17 shirt immediately. Bostock scored twice on his debut against Millwall. On 6 August 2010, Bostock had joined newly relegated Hull City on a season-long loan. He scored with a 30-yard strike described as a "wonder goal" on his debut against Swansea on 7 August. On 31 December 2010, Tottenham Hotspur announced that Bostock had returned early from his largely unsuccessful loan spell at Hull City. Bostock joined

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

on loan on 30 January 2012 for the remainder of the 2011–12 season. He made his debut the following day as a substitute in a 1–1 draw with MK Dons. He was recalled to Spurs in March after playing only four games. Bostock joined

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded as Swindon A ...

on loan on 22 March 2012 for the remainder of the season, after Tottenham manager

Harry Redknapp Henry James Redknapp (born 2 March 1947) is an English former association football, football manager (association football), manager and player. He has previously managed AFC Bournemouth, West Ham United F.C., West Ham United, Portsmouth F.C., ...

said it would be good for him to play under

Paolo Di Canio Paolo Di Canio (born 9 July 1968) is an Italian former professional footballer and manager. During his playing career he made over 500 league appearances and scored over one hundred goals as a Forward (association football), forward. He primari ...

. He made his debut on 25 March in the 2012 Football League Trophy Final, which Swindon lost 2–0 to Chesterfield. He made his league debut against Gillingham on 21 April. He made his home debut on 28 April, in a 5–0 win against Port Vale in a game that saw Swindon crowned League Two champions. He made his final appearance on the final day of the season in a 0–0 draw against

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

. He returned on loan to Swindon on 30 August 2012 until January 2013. He made his first appearance 2 days later against Preston. He made his home debut on 5 September in the

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and U-21 teams from the Premier Le ...

against rivals

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club () is a professional association football, football club based in Oxford, England. The club compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football league system, English football. Founded as Headingto ...

. Bostock returned to Tottenham on 7 January 2013. In February 2013, it was reported that Bostock was having trials with two different MLS clubs with a view to a loan move. He officially joined

on 8 March, and made his debut for team the following day in a 2–1 home victory over

Sporting Kansas City Sporting Kansas City is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The ad ...

where he was substituted in the 85th minute. On 24 May, Bostock was given a waiver (release) by Toronto, ending his loan stint with the club. On 7 June, the

confirmed that Bostock was one of a number of Premier League players who were being released by their clubs and were now free agents, advertising their availability to other clubs. The official announcement from Tottenham was made on 10 June, which included Bostock, amongst a number of Spurs players who would not be re-signed and were being released.

Royal Antwerp

On 11 July 2013, Bostock joined Royal Antwerp in the Belgian second division under the tutelage of manager

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink Jerrel Floyd "Jimmy" Hasselbaink ( ; born 27 March 1972) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player. Born in Suriname, he and his family would later move to the Dutch city of Zaandam where he first played football, initially a ...

. Despite scoring just one goal he flourished at Antwerp providing 16 assists in his first season and soon became a fans favourite helping the team to finish 6th in the league narrowly missing out on the playoffs.

OH Leuven

His strong performances earned him a move to newly relegated side

Oud-Heverlee Leuven Oud-Heverlee Leuven (), also called OH Leuven or OHL, is a Belgian professional football club from the city of Leuven. It was created in 2002 from the merger of three clubs, '' F.C. Zwarte Duivels Oud-Heverlee'', whose registration number it i ...

, where he continued to blossom. In his second season in Belgium, Bostock went on to help his new side OHL win promotion via the playoffs. Along the way he scooped the Proximus Player of the Season Award after scoring 13 goals and providing 19 assists.

Lens

On 5 July 2016, Bostock joined

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship reasons, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Prof ...

team

RC Lens Racing Club de Lens (), commonly referred to as RC Lens or simply as Lens, is a French professional football club based in the northern city of Lens in the department of Pas-de-Calais. The club's nickname, ''Les Sang et Or'' (), comes from i ...

on a two-year deal. On 9 August 2016, Bostock scored his first goal for Lens with a 26th-minute free-kick against AC Ajaccio in the first round of the

Coupe de la Ligue The Coupe de la Ligue (), known outside France as the French League Cup, was a knockout cup competition in French football organized by the Ligue de Football Professionnel. The tournament was established in 1993 and, unlike the Coupe de France ...

. He scored his first league goal for the club in a 2–0 win over Nîmes on 15 August 2016. He scored an eighth-minute penalty in a 1–1 draw with

Troyes Troyes () is a Communes of France, commune and the capital of the Departments of France, department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within ...

on 26 August 2016 before scoring twice in a 4–2 win over

Orléans Orléans (,"Orleans"
(US) and Red Star A red star, five-pointed and filled, is a symbol that has often historically been associated with communist ideology, particularly in combination with the hammer and sickle, but is also used as a purely socialist symbol in the 21st century. ...

on 30 September 2016. Bostock was named Ligue 2 player of the month in September and then again in October 2016. He was awarded Ligue 2 player of the year after his first season in French football on 15 May 2017.

Bursaspor

In January 2018, Bostock signed with

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

side

Bursaspor Bursaspor Kulübü Derneği, commonly known as Bursaspor, is a Turkey, Turkish professional sports club based in the city of Bursa. Founded in 1963, the club is best known for its football team, which has a rich history in Football in Turkey, Turk ...

, having agreed a -year contract with the club.

Toulouse

In July 2018, Bostock returned to France signing a three-year contract with

Toulouse FC Toulouse Football Club () is a French professional association football, football club based in Toulouse. The club was founded in 1970 and currently plays in Ligue 1, the first division of Football in France, French football. Toulouse plays it ...

, managed by his former Lens boss Alain Casanova. On 8 August 2019, Bostock returned to England with a season-long loan to Championship side

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

. He left Toulouse by mutual consent in October 2020.

Doncaster Rovers

Bostock joined League One club

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system after winning the 202 ...

on an 18-month contract in January 2021. On 1 June 2022, following Doncaster Rovers's relegation from League One, it was announced that he had turned down a new contract and would be leaving the club. He made 39 league appearances for the club.

Notts County

On 7 December 2022, Bostock signed for

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

club

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football, football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of Football in England, English football, following promotion and relegation, promotion ...

on an eighteen-month contract. In the 2023 National League play-off final, Bostock scored an 87th minute equaliser against Chesterfield to send the match to extra time. In the penalty shootout, Bostock attempted a Panenka penalty but hit the bar. However, Notts County would prevail 4–3 to earn promotion. He was released by the team after the conclusion of the 2023-2024 season.

Solihull Moors

On 27 July 2024, it was announced that Bostock signed for National League side Solihull Moors. He signed a two-year deal.

International career

Bostock captained

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

at Under-17 level. He was eligible to represent

and

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. In March 2013, the

Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation The Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) is the governing body of football in Trinidad and Tobago. It is based in Port of Spain, Trinidad. It is a member of FIFA and is responsible for governing amateur and professional football and ...

announced that he had shown interest in representing the Soca Warriors at international level. Three years later, on 18 March 2016, he was selected for the double confrontation with

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, sometimes known simply as Saint Vincent or SVG, is an island country in the eastern Caribbean. It is located in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, which lie in the West Indies, at the south ...

as part of the

2018 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification process was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA FIFA#Structure, confederations to decide 31 of the 32 teams which would play in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, with Russia national football team, Rus ...

CONCACAF fourth round.

Personal life

Bostock is a devout

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

. In 2015 he founded 'Ballers in God', a group that brings together Christian footballers. His family support Crystal Palace. As of November 2020 he had been married for ten years and had a young son.

Career statistics

Honours

Swindon Town *

runner-up: 2011–12 OH Leuven * Belgian Second Division play-offs:

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

Notts County *

play-offs:

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

Individual *

Belgian Second Division The Belgian Second Division was the second-highest division in the Belgian football league system, one level below the Belgian Pro League. It was founded by the Royal Belgian Football Association in 1909 and folded in 2016, when it was replace ...

Player of the Season: 2014–15
* Trophées UNFP du football#Player of the Year 2, Ligue 2 Player of the Year: 2017

References

External links

Tottenham Hotspur player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bostock, John 1992 births Living people Footballers from the London Borough of Southwark People from Camberwell Men's association football midfielders English men's footballers English people of Trinidad and Tobago descent Sportspeople of Trinidad and Tobago descent Black British sportsmen 21st-century Black British people English expatriate men's footballers English Football League players National League (English football) players Major League Soccer players Belgian Pro League players Challenger Pro League players Ligue 1 players Ligue 2 players Süper Lig players Crystal Palace F.C. players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players Brentford F.C. players Hull City A.F.C. players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Swindon Town F.C. players Toronto FC players Royal Antwerp F.C. players Oud-Heverlee Leuven players RC Lens players Bursaspor footballers Toulouse FC players Nottingham Forest F.C. players Doncaster Rovers F.C. players Notts County F.C. players Solihull Moors F.C. players Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium England men's youth international footballers English expatriate sportspeople in Belgium English expatriate sportspeople in Canada Expatriate men's footballers in France Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey English Christians 21st-century English sportsmen