Žan Vipotnik (born 18 March 2002) is a Slovenian professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Swansea City and the Slovenia national team.
Club career Early career Vipotnik began his career at his hometown club Dravinja, and later joined the academy of Slovenian giants Maribor. 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.
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. He spent most of 2021 and 2022 on loan, first with top division club Gorica, and later with Triglav Kranj in the second division.
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. Despite this, he finished the season as the league's top scorer with 20 goals.
Bordeaux In July 2023, Vipotnik transferred to Ligue 2 side Bordeaux for a reported transfer fee of about €3 million. 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.
Swansea City On 1 August 2024, Vipotnik joined Championship side Swansea City on a four-year deal. On 17 August, he scored his first goal for the club after coming off the bench in a 3–0 victory over Preston. In his first season, he netted 7 goals in 42 league appearances.
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. After scoring another brace against Blackburn Rovers on 20 January, he became the league's outright top scorer. 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. 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.
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. 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. 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. 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.
Vipotnik was included in Slovenia's 26-man squad for UEFA Euro 2024. He made one appearance at the final tournament, playing the last fifteen minutes in the group stage draw against Serbia.
Career statistics Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsMaribor2020–21Slovenian PrvaLiga0000———002021–22Slovenian PrvaLiga9000—30—1202022–23Slovenian PrvaLiga302043—40—3823Total392043—70—5023Gorica (loan)2020–21Slovenian PrvaLiga17100———171Triglav Kranj (loan)2021–22Slovenian Second League12900——211410Bordeaux2023–24Ligue 2371030———4010Swansea City2024–25Championship4270020——4472025–26Championship44231042——49252026–27Championship820010——92Total94321072——10234Career total199728372702122378
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsSlovenia202382202470202571202683Total306
Scores and results list Slovenia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Vipotnik goal.
+ List of international goals scored by Žan VipotnikNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1Astana Arena, Astana, Kazakhstan2–12–1UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying2San Marino Stadium, Serravalle, San Marino1–04–0UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying3Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia2–22–22026 FIFA World Cup qualification4Podgorica City Stadium, Podgorica, Montenegro1–13–2Friendly5 3–26Thermoplan Arena, Lucerne, Switzerland1–01–22026–27 UEFA Nations League B
Honours
Individual Slovenian PrvaLiga Player of the Year: 2022–23 Slovenian PrvaLiga top goalscorer: 2022–23 Slovenian PrvaLiga Team of the Year: 2022–23 EFL Championship top goalscorer: 2025–26 EFL Championship Team of the Season: 2025–26 Swansea City Player of the Year: 2025–26 PFA Team of the Year: 2025–26 Championship
References
External links