Image via @NorwichCityFC on Twitter
Sometimes, there are players that you like for fairly arbitrary, or even slightly ridiculous reasons. Such is the case for me with Przemysław Płacheta, and in an article I wrote just over 12 months ago upon him agreeing a loan deal for Birmingham City, I detailed these reasons.
Unfortunately, since I wrote that article, it hasn’t been smooth sailing for Płacheta. In the early games he played for Birmingham he showed real promise as a wing-back, even grabbing a goal, before injury more or less ruled him out for the entire 2022/23 season.
This summer, with less than a year left on his contract with Norwich, there was rumour and speculation that he’d be sold rather than be lost to another club for free in 2024. For all the world he looked frozen out of the squad, not even being a part of Norwich’s first two match-days this season.
Supposedly Legia Warszawa were circling, but Tomasz Włodarczyk recently suggested that Legia’s interest was more in securing him on a free next summer. For what it’s worth, I think Płacheta would be a great fit at Legia, and perhaps before the last fortnight the Ekstraklasa would be a fantastic place to return Płacheta to his exciting and dynamic best.
However, the joys of the packed English football schedule meant that some clubs are already playing league cup matches midweek, and it was in Norwich’s first league cup game away to Queen’s Park Rangers that Płacheta saw his first start for 361 days. Despite him being far more of an attacking threat than a solid defender, he was deployed as a left-back and managed to complete the entire 90 minutes with no trouble, helping his side to a late 1-0 win.
A solid, if unremarkable performance from Płacheta was rewarded by being left out of the squad again for that weekend’s Championship fixture. This didn’t last long, and he was named on the bench when Norwich travelled to Huddersfield the week after.
Making a 15 minute cameo off the bench, Płacheta assisted Norwich’s fourth goal of the afternoon, and I would be lying if I said people sat up and took notice. Personally, having kept a close eye on Płacheta’s career for some years now, I thought it was an extremely encouraging sign and yet another indicator his story at Norwich wasn’t over yet.
Lo and behold, in another league cup fixture away at Bristol City last night, Płacheta turned in his best performance for a long time. Twice in the first half he could’ve had assists, as two fantastic crosses led to gilt-edged chances for unmarked teammates mere yards from goal.
Pace has always been Płacheta’s best attribute, and indeed there were occasions in the game where this was utilised, but his close control and ability to escape in tight situations was something I hadn’t seen him do for a long while. Indeed, it’s hard to show these skills playing at left-back, and it’s no wonder this performance coincided with a shift up the pitch to a more familiar winger role.
The goal Płacheta scored, the winning goal I hasten to add, was showing us all that his unbelievable speed is not the only reason he’s in the team. A wonderful turn and finish into the far corner with his weaker right foot reminded me of some of the goals he scored in his breakout season with Śląsk Wrocław. It’s little surprise he was voted player of the match by the Norwich supporters.
Having arguably struggled to adapt to English football for the best part of two years, all the while getting few chances on the pitch and suffering with injury for almost a year, Płacheta is having a real moment. Whether or not he can unseat some of the other members of the squad and challenge for more time on the pitch is a question for another day, but right now the evidence is clear that he’s playing with a tremendous level of confidence once again.
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