Image via Mikolaj Barbanell/Shutterstock
A week of mixed emotions for Kamil Grabara; first, he was forced out of the Poland squad for the upcoming qualifiers as a result of recent complications from the facial injury he suffered last summer. His replacement Marcin Bułka is having a minor meteoric rise at Nice so far this season, but there is little doubt that Grabara is Poland’s fourth-choice goalkeeper when everyone is fit.
The news was then reported yesterday that Wolfsburg had sealed a deal with Copenhagen for a reported €13.5 million deal for Grabara, which will see him join the German club next summer. As for the structure of the deal, there are conditions which Wolfsburg can exercise in the winter transfer window, allowing Grabara to join for the second half of this season. This is allegedly due to the fact Copenhagen wanted to keep Grabara for the Champions League group stages, before having the chance to join up with his new club early.
As a result of this deal, Liverpool will also profit. Grabara signed for the Merseyside club in 2016 from Ruch Chorzów, and despite never making a senior competitive appearance for them, this transfer will see them net 20% of the fee received by Copenhagen. This is thanks to a sell-on clause they agreed when Grabara joined the Danish side on a permanent basis in 2021.
Wolfsburg have identified Grabara as their new first-choice goalkeeper to replace long-serving Belgian keeper Koen Casteels, who has decided not to renew his contract with his current club when it expires next summer.
Grabara will be joining fellow promising Polish talent Jakub Kamiński at Wolfsburg, who despite not yet featuring much this season was a real bright spark for the team last season as they achieved an eighth place finish.
Grabara has probably seen other young goalkeepers like Bułka getting praise at the moment for strong performances in a top league. With no offence to Copenhagen and the Danish Superliga, the time is definitely right for Grabara to build off his strong 2022-23 season (especially in the Champions League group stage) and secure that move to a bigger league in which to further showcase his talent.
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