Former England prodigy hunting 15th club of his bonkers career at the age of 30
John Bostock looked set for global footballing stardom when he surged his way through the Crystal Palace ranks.
Bostock made his senior Palace debut before he even took his GCSEs, becoming the Eagles youngest ever player to put on the famous red and blue. His path towards footballing royalty appeared to be laid as a subsequent move to Tottenham Hotspur beckoned the following season.
He even represented England’s Under 16s, 17s and 19s – making a whopping 40 appearances across the three levels combined, highlighting his talent at a young age.
Unfortunately, the former Barcelona, Manchester United, and Real Madrid transfer target was not able to maintain his lightning start into football. 15 years on from bursting onto the scene, Bostock is currently a free agent, searching for his 15th club.
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The now 30-year-old departed Doncaster Rovers at the end of the season after they were relegated down to League Two.
“[Bostock] feels he can play at a higher level and doesn’t want to step into League Two which we respect, and wish him all the best from the club’s perspective,” a statement from Doncaster head of football operations James Coppinger said in June.
During his time at Tottenham, Bostock was loaned to Brentford, Hull City, Sheffield Wednesday, Swindon Town, and Toronto Rapids, before permanently leaving the north Londoners to join Royal Antwerp.
A proceeding move to Belgian side OH Leuven followed, before other audacious moves to French side Lens, Turkish giants Bursaspor and Toulose, eventually led to a loan move to Nottingham Forest.
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It certainly is a far cry from the days where football’s elite clubs used to queue out of the door for his signature. “You name the club, I had interest from them,” Bostock told BBC Sport back in November 2020. “Barcelona, Real Madrid, Inter, Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool – the who’s who of European football.
“When I was 14, Barcelona offered me a 10-year contract. Ronaldinho was my favourite player at the time so they sent me a signed poster from him.
“I’ve still got it at my house in London. It said: ‘To John from Ronaldinho.’ I saw Ronaldinho win these trophies and I just thought I want to be that guy. I pinned my identity on that and I thought if I didn’t achieve that, I was a failure.”
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