Žan Vipotnik

Žan Vipotnik
Personal information
Date of birth (2002-03-18) 18 March 2002
Place of birth Celje, Slovenia[1]
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[2]
Position Forward
Team information
Current team
 Swansea City
Number 9
Youth career
2008–2014 Dravinja
2014–2020 Maribor
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2020–2023 Maribor 39 (20)
2021 → Gorica (loan) 17 (1)
2022 → Triglav Kranj (loan) 12 (9)
2023–2024 Bordeaux 37 (10)
2024– Swansea City 88 (30)
International career‡
2017 Slovenia U15 4 (2)
2017–2018 Slovenia U16 7 (1)
2018–2019 Slovenia U17 10 (1)
2019 Slovenia U18 2 (0)
2020 Slovenia U19 1 (0)
2022 Slovenia U21 3 (0)
2023– Slovenia 26 (5)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23 August 2026
‡ National team caps and goals as of 7 June 2026

Žan Vipotnik (born 18 March 2002) is a Slovenian professional footballer who plays as a forward for EFL Championship club Swansea City and the Slovenia national team.[2]

Club career

Early career

Vipotnik began his career at his hometown club Dravinja, and later joined the academy of Slovenian giants Maribor.[3] He scored 58 goals for the under-15 team in the 2016–17 season, and was equally successful in the later stages of his youth career, scoring 53 goals in 50 games for the under-17 team and 31 goals in 25 games for the under-19 team.[4]

He made his senior debut for Maribor on 8 July 2021, after being named in the starting eleven in the UEFA Europa Conference League match against Urartu.[5] He spent most of 2021 and 2022 on loan, first with top division club Gorica, and later with Triglav Kranj in the second division.[6]

Vipotnik made a breakthrough in the 2022–23 season. He started the season in Maribor mostly as a substitute, but slowly made his way into the starting eleven and scored his first league goal in the 11th round against Gorica.[6] Despite this, he finished the season as the league's top scorer with 20 goals.[6]

Bordeaux

In July 2023, Vipotnik transferred to Ligue 2 side Bordeaux for a reported transfer fee of about €3 million.[7] He scored ten goals for the side, but off-the-field issues saw the club enter administration at the end of the 2023–24 season and give up their professional status, releasing Vipotnik as a free agent.[8]

Swansea City

On 1 August 2024, Vipotnik joined Championship side Swansea City on a four-year deal.[9] On 17 August, he scored his first goal for the club after coming off the bench in a 3–0 victory over Preston.[10] In his first season, he netted 7 goals in 42 league appearances.[11]

He began his second season with the Swans much more prolifically, surpassing his previous season's total in all competitions by October after scoring a brace against Norwich City.[12] After scoring another brace against Blackburn Rovers on 20 January, he became the league's outright top scorer.[13] Amid good performances, having scored 17 league goals by the end of March, and despite interest from Premier League teams, Vipotnik signed a new contract with Swansea, tying him to the club until the summer of 2030.[14][15] He ultimately finished the season with 23 league goals and won the league's top scorer award, and was also named in the Championship's Team of the Season.[16][17]

International career

Between 2017 and 2022, Vipotnik represented Slovenia in all youth levels from under-15 to under-21 and made more than 25 appearances for all teams combined.[18] In March 2023, he was called up to the Slovenian senior team by manager Matjaž Kek for the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying matches against Kazakhstan and San Marino.[19] Vipotnik made his full international debut on 23 March in an away game against Kazakhstan, where he entered the game in the 70th minute and scored the winning goal for Slovenia eight minutes later in a 2–1 win.[20] By doing so, he became the second youngest player to score for Slovenia, behind only Benjamin Šeško, at the age of 21 years and 5 days.[21]

Vipotnik was included in Slovenia's 26-man squad for UEFA Euro 2024.[22] He made one appearance at the final tournament, playing the last fifteen minutes in the group stage draw against Serbia.[23]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 22 August 2026[24]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Maribor 2020–21 Slovenian PrvaLiga 0000———00
2021–22 Slovenian PrvaLiga 9000—3[c]0—120
2022–23 Slovenian PrvaLiga 302043—4[d]0—3823
Total 392043—70—5023
Gorica (loan) 2020–21 Slovenian PrvaLiga 17100———171
Triglav Kranj (loan) 2021–22 Slovenian Second League 12900——2[e]11410
Bordeaux 2023–24 Ligue 2 371030———4010
Swansea City 2024–25 Championship 4270020——447
2025–26 Championship 44231042——4925
2026–27 Championship 200010——30
Total 88301072——9632
Career total 193708372702121776
  1. ↑ Includes Slovenian Cup, Coupe de France, FA Cup
  2. ↑ Includes EFL Cup
  3. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
  4. ↑ One appearance in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League, one appearance in UEFA Europa Conference League
  5. ↑ Appearances in PrvaLiga play-off

International

As of match played 7 June 2026[25]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Slovenia 202382
202470
202571
202642
Total265
Scores and results list Slovenia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Vipotnik goal.
List of international goals scored by Žan Vipotnik
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 23 March 2023 Astana Arena, Astana, Kazakhstan  Kazakhstan 2–1 2–1 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying
2 10 September 2023 San Marino Stadium, Serravalle, San Marino  San Marino 1–0 4–0 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying
3 5 September 2025 Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia  Sweden 2–2 2–2 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification
4 31 March 2026 Podgorica City Stadium, Podgorica, Montenegro  Montenegro 1–1 3–2 Friendly
53–2

Honours

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "Zan Vipotnik s'engage avec les Girondins" (in French). FC Girondins de Bordeaux. 5 July 2023. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  2. 1 2 Žan Vipotnik at WorldFootball.net
  3. ↑ Kozmelj, Jaka (19 March 2023). "Jutri so dovoljene ameriške sanje, danes je tu Slovenija". Sportklub (in Slovenian). Retrieved 27 March 2026.
  4. ↑ "V mladih letih je (že) bil stroj za doseganje golov: Žan Vipotnik na zadnjih štirih tekmah dokazal, da Maribor lahko resno računa nanj". Planet Nogomet (in Slovenian). 30 November 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2026.
  5. ↑ "(FOTO) Uspešen uvod vijoličastih v novo sezono, a prednost v Erevanu bo majhna". Večer (in Slovenian). 8 July 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2026.
  6. 1 2 3 Okorn, Jože (24 May 2023). "#intervju Žan Vipotnik, najboljši nogometaš slovenske lige po izboru Dnevnika:Golgeter, ki se odlično znajde tudi v kuhinji". Dnevnik (in Slovenian). Retrieved 27 March 2026.
  7. ↑ "Striker Vipotnik transferred to Bordeaux in near record deal". The Slovenia Times. 6 July 2023. Retrieved 26 March 2026.
  8. ↑ "Žan Vipotnik že pripravlja kovčke za odhod". Delo (in Slovenian). 26 July 2024. Retrieved 27 March 2026.
  9. ↑ "Swansea sign Slovenia frontman Vipotnik". BBC Sport. 1 August 2024. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  10. ↑ "Vipotnik's first Swans goal like 'air in his lungs'". BBC Sport. 17 August 2024. Retrieved 27 March 2026.
  11. ↑ Gruden, Toni (2 September 2025). "Stebri reprezentance ne blestijo, vroči pa so Vipotnik in oba Celjana" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 27 March 2026.
  12. ↑ "Dva gola za samozavest pred Cityjem: Žan Vipotnik ponovno v središču pozornosti (VIDEO)". Slovenski nogometni portal (in Slovenian). 27 October 2025. Retrieved 27 March 2026.
  13. ↑ "Swansea City 3–1 Blackburn Rovers: Zan Vipotnik scores twice". BBC Sport. 20 January 2026. Retrieved 27 March 2026.
  14. ↑ "Nagrada za odlično sezono: Vipotnik podaljšal pogodbo s Swanseajem do 2030". 24ur.com (in Slovenian). 20 March 2026. Retrieved 27 March 2026.
  15. ↑ Pejčič, Lucijan (20 March 2026). "Slovenski golgeter prejel sijajno darilo za rojstni dan, trud je poplačan". Ekipa (in Slovenian). Retrieved 27 March 2026.
  16. ↑ "Žan Vipotnik sezono tudi uradno končal kot najboljši strelec druge angleške lige". Delo (in Slovenian). 2 May 2026. Retrieved 2 May 2026.
  17. ↑ Adam, Drury (20 April 2026). "Championship Team of the Season announced at EFL awards". Watford Observer. Retrieved 3 May 2026.
  18. ↑ "Žan Vipotnik – Nogometna zveza Slovenije". nzs.si (in Slovenian). Football Association of Slovenia. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  19. ↑ "Kaj ob prvem vpoklicu v reprezentanco pravi presrečni Žan Vipotnik?" (in Slovenian). Nogomania. 14 March 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  20. ↑ "Vipotnik s prvim strelom v reprezentančnem dresu zadel za tri točke Slovenije" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. 23 March 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  21. ↑ "Slovenija ima napad za prihodnost: Vipotnik drugi najmlajši strelec v zgodovini Slovenije" (in Slovenian). Nogomania. 23 March 2023. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  22. ↑ "Kek objavil končni seznam za Euro: brez Zahovića, Vidovška, tudi Zajca" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. 7 June 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2026.
  23. ↑ "Žan Vipotnik International Matches: Caps & Goals". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 20 July 2026.
  24. ↑ Žan Vipotnik at Soccerway
  25. ↑ "Žan Vipotnik, international football player". eu-football.info. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  26. ↑ "Žan Vipotnik igralec sezone, najboljši trener Albert Riera". Sportklub (in Slovenian). 15 May 2023. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  27. ↑ "Žan Vipotnik se je poslovil od Maribora: "Spomine na Ljudski vrt je težko strniti v nekaj stavkih. Precej jih je, kje sploh začeti..."". Planet Nogomet (in Slovenian). 5 July 2023. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  28. ↑ "Če so bili do zdaj kakšni dvomi, jih zdaj ni več, Vipotnik presrečen: Brez njih mi ne bi uspelo!". Ekipa (in Slovenian). 15 May 2023. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  29. ↑ "Report | Swansea City 3 Charlton Athletic 1". swanseacity.com. Swansea City AFC. 2 May 2026. Retrieved 2 May 2026.
  30. ↑ "See who made the EFL Team of the Season lineups". The English Football League. 19 April 2026. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  31. ↑ "Zan Vipotnik scoops awards hat-trick at Swansea City Player Awards Evening". swanseacity.com. Swansea City AFC. 29 April 2026. Retrieved 30 April 2026.
  32. ↑ "PFA Awards 2026: EFL winners". PFA. 25 August 2026. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
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