Image via Mikolaj Barbanell/Shutterstock
As the end of the 2022/23 season and the start of the summer transfer window fast approaching, speculation has ramped up as to where Kamil Grabara will be playing his club football this time next year.
First, a little background. Grabara catapulted himself into the forefront of European football consciousness when making a number of great saves over the course of two group games in this season’s Champions League for Copenhagen against Manchester City, including keeping out a Riyad Mahrez penalty.
Since then, he’s found himself as an emergency call-up to Poland’s World Cup squad after Bartłomiej Drągowski’s unfortunate ankle injury, and has been regularly featuring in teams of the week compiled by the Danish football press.
It seems quite clear that Grabara will be moving on from Copenhagen this summer, but where? There’s been unspecified Premier League interest since those Champions League performances, but in the past week reports in England and Denmark have speculated that Grabara is a target for recently re-promoted Burnley. Clarets boss Vincent Kompany is said to be a big fan of Grabara and is planning to have him compete with Kosovan keeper Arijanet Muric to be the number one at Turf Moor.
Reports earlier in the season, originating via the Italian and Polish press, claimed that Napoli were interested in Grabara as to provide competition for Alex Meret, although this story seems to have all but disappeared from existence.
Grabara seems to be following a bit of a tradition among Polish goalkeepers of very rarely keeping his opinions to himself. Whilst some find this grating, others find his lack of self-censorship refreshing. Whether that would lead him to fit in well at a club like Burnley we would have to wait and see, but his war of words earlier in the year with ex-teammate Matt Ryan has been seen as a perceived lack of professionalism by some pundits.
Whether or not this is true, it will certainly be taken into account by whoever plans on making a bid for Grabara’s services. Wojciech Szczęsny has been a vocal supporter of Grabara and his abilities, stating that he sees Grabara as a future first-choice goalkeeper for Poland. That sort of backing will only increase demand for Grabara’s services come the summer.
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