Looking back at five years of highs and lows for the Wolves men's first-team players before the 2023/24 season, next up is the recent career of the Old Gold's Frenchman Jean-Ricner Bellegarde.
2018/19
- Lens (30 apps | 6 goals)
In his third and final season in the senior Lens side, having come through the club’s youth system, Bellegarde had the best goalscoring campaign of his career to date. The then-20-year-old opened the 2018/19 Ligue 2 season in the best possible way, with his late goal securing an opening day win over US Orleans. During this season Bellegarde played in a variety of positions for the team, whether that was on the right of midfield or through the centre, while also wearing the captain’s armband for his boyhood club as Lens secured a 2-0 win over Nogent in a Coupe de France first round fixture, before scoring and claiming an assist the following round in victory over FC Versailles. But it was towards the end of the campaign where Bellegarde came to the fore, with three goals in his final two league matches, while adding another in the Ligue 1 relegation play-off as his side missed out on promotion to Dijon.
2019/20
- Strasbourg (30 apps | 1 goal)
Bellegarde’s end of season form in the second tier alerted several French Ligue 1 outfits to his potential, and the midfielder headed to a Strasbourg side competing in the Europa League in the summer of 2019. After mainly coming off the bench for Lens, Bellegarde was straight in from the start for Strasbourg, playing in a 3-1 win over Maccabi Haifa in the Europa League second qualifying round, before playing an hour in Strasbourg’s Ligue 1 opening day draw with FC Metz. In late 2019, Bellegarde earned his three France under-21 caps, as he came off the bench in wins over Azerbaijan 0 – in which he earned an assist – and Slovakia, before starting a 3-2 win over Georgia. After recovering from a knee injury, Bellegarde scored his first goal for Strasbourg in January 2020 as the team secured a 5-1 win over Angouleme CFC in the Coupe de France fourth round, before Covid brought an abrupt end to the season.
2020/21
- Strasbourg (36 apps | 1 goal)
Bellegarde begun the following season back in the Strasbourg starting 11, although the team’s form was stuttering – picking up just seven points from their opening 12 matches, before a thigh injury saw the midfielder sidelined for a few weeks. Although his versatility saw him start many games for Strasbourg, Bellegarde was unable to put a run together in a set position with the side, playing on both the right and left of midfield, as well as in various positions in the centre and as a second striker. The team’s form picked up in the second half of the season, although they did experience the disappointment of dropping out of the cup at the first hurdle, with Strasbourg going on to finish in 15th position. Bellegarde did find the net that season, with the goal coming against his former side Lens in a 2-1 defeat.
2021/22
- Strasbourg (38 apps | 2 goals)
The 2021/22 season was a more successful campaign for Strasbourg and Bellegarde, as he found the back of the net twice from central midfield, while also adding three assists to his tally. Although the team got off to another sluggish start, a run of just four defeats from October saw the side push up the Ligue 1 table to earn a sixth placed finish – narrowly missing out on qualification to the Europa Conference League play-offs by just three points to Nice, while finishing the year one point ahead of Lens. Both of Bellegarde’s goals this season came in 1-1 draws, and both were against Stade Reims, with the first earning an added time point at home before he opened the scoring in the reverse fixture. The midfielder also experienced his first injury free season as he appeared in all but two of Strasbourg’s matches.
2022/23
- Strasbourg (31 apps | 2 goals)
Having gone up and down the Ligue 1 standings during the half a decade, Strasbourg suffered one of their down years last season, as the team one just once in the league during the first half of the season. However, Bellegarde continued to stand out as one of the key members of the side, with the midfielder experiencing an excellent spell of form between the October and January, by scoring once and claiming five assists in eight matches as Strasbourg fought to get out of the relegation zone. After an ankle sprain put him out of action for two months to start 2023, Bellegarde was crucial to the club’s survival, as he claimed four assists in a run of five games as Strasbourg picked up 12 vital points, before scoring on the final day of the Ligue 1 campaign in a 2-1 loss to Orient, with the team already safe.
This article originally featured in Wolves' official 2023/24 matchday programme. Last season's programmes are still available to purchase online through retailers Curtis Sports.
