Image via kivnl/Shutterstock
Dutch club Utrecht have recently sold Quinten Timber to Feyenoord for €8.5 million, and there is therefore a feeling that they want to add depth to this area before the end of the summer transfer window.
Two names of great interest, allegedly on the Dutch club’s shortlist, are Mateusz Klich and Jakub Kałuziński. To make things simpler, let’s analyse the likelihood of deals for these two happening, starting off with Klich.
Klich has played for Utrecht before, and he played very well in the Eredivisie for them, on loan from Leeds United in 2018. It would appear he is now strongly considering a move back to the Netherlands, and Utrecht in particular, given that Leeds’ new summer signings mean he will undoubtedly have less time on the pitch, something Klich doesn’t want given that, at 32, he believes this to be his last opportunity to play at a World Cup for his country.
Utrecht will most probably consider a loan for Klich more strongly than they would a permanent transfer, given that the finances involved in a permanent deal would probably be higher than they would like for someone who is in their 30s. Hopefully a deal could be struck that enables all parties to feel content, something I personally believe a loan deal would achieve.
Jakub Kałuziński currently plays his football for Lechia Gdańsk. The 19 year-old has had an impressive last 12 months playing in the Ekstraklasa and putting Lechia into Europa Conference League qualification, where they recently lost narrowly to Rapid Vienna. Kałuziński has one year remaining on his current contract, and many expect Lechia could want to cash in on a burgeoning talent before they might lose him for free next summer.
In a recent article, I myself wrote that Kałuziński might be the next young talent to leave the Ekstraklasa, although I wasn’t aware of any potential interest until the Utrecht news was reported by Tomasz Włodarczyk.
Utrecht would not have to pay a particularly big fee for Kałuziński, probably around €1 million, still not a figure to be sniffed at for an Ekstraklasa club to receive. Whether the player will want to leave is another matter, but the Eredivisie would be a higher quality of competition in which to ply his trade, and as mentioned earlier Lechia are already out of European competition for this season.
The possibilities of either of these moves materialising poses an interesting question as far as the national team is concerned for the World Cup. Given the unfortunate news that means Jakub Moder will not feature at the tournament, that opens up another spot for a midfielder to journey to Qatar in his place. We know that the primary force behind Klich seeking a move is to be in that World Cup squad, but if Kałuziński were to join Utrecht and impress, that would put him very much in the conversation for an outside shot at being in the Polish squad in Qatar.
For more, follow @ekstraklasaexp on Twitter and @ekstraklasaexports on Instagram to know when new posts go live.
Comments