Images via Mikolaj Barbanell/Shutterstock and Fabrizio Andrea Bertani/Shutterstock
It feels like it’s been some time since we’ve had two promising strikers have an electric start to a European season, and in Szymon Włodarczyk and Adrian Benedyczak it’s safe to say we have plenty of reasons to be excited. Sure, the two have different profiles, and are at different stages of development, but at least in my opinion are equally exciting.
When Włodarczyk started being spoken about last season as one of the Ekstraklasa’s most exciting young talents, I was slightly taken aback. Not because he isn’t talented, but because he didn’t exactly seem to have the same sort of prolific record as other young forwards, but was being spoken about in greater terms. Indeed, he was being linked with the top clubs in Belgium and Scotland, which made it seem all the more odd. Perhaps part of my thinking was that, when the Ekstraklasa resumed after the winter break, he only scored or assisted three times in the league for Górnik Zabrze. Pleasingly, I am increasingly being proven I was at least a little bit incorrect to judge him so harshly.
For Sturm Graz, Włodarczyk is already proving a valuable asset, scoring seven times and assisting once in eight appearances across all competitions this season. Two of these goals came this past weekend against Blau Weiss Linz, and indeed he would have had a stunning third goal had a teammate not been deemed to be interfering with play in an offside position.
Sturm Graz will certainly be hoping that Włodarczyk can be a wise investment, given what the Austrian club managed when selling another young striker, Rasmus Højlund. The Danish forward only needed one season at Atalanta before being sold on at giant profit to Manchester United, a giant profit which has trickled down to Sturm Graz. I’m sure this was part of Włodarczyk’s thinking when choosing Sturm Graz this summer, as opposed to the other clubs around Europe which had reportedly shown interest in his signature.
In terms of his style of play, Włodarczyk is not a million miles away from someone like Højlund. Włodarczyk is quick, tall, has a decent first touch and is so far proving to have a clinical nature that wasn’t always evident last season. Despite his height and his speed, he still quite slight for a forward, but that seems to be something currently working to his advantage in terms of often outmanoeuvring defenders.
Benedyczak has been steadily floating under the radar for most of his time at Parma, although he was perfectly decent in terms of his play and output last season and very nearly helped Parma get promoted into Serie A.
This season, Benedyczak has very much picked up where he left off, scoring three goals in all three games he’s played this season so far. Granted, two of these were penalties but he’s tucked them away nonetheless.
Funnily enough, my last proper article prior to this also spoke about Benedyczak, and for good reason. He’s really becoming something of the focal point for this Parma side, and despite him playing on the left hand side a lot I think he has all the qualities to flourish in more of a false nine type of role, as a deeper-lying forward.
There had been a few rumours this summer that some Serie A teams had been sniffing around Benedyczak, but they appear to have gone quiet for now. Indeed, why move on from a team where you’re quickly becoming the focus to one where you will invariably be struggling for time off the bench?
As to how Włodarczyk and Benedyczak compare, they both possess a fair amount of speed both with and without the ball, are the same height give or take a centimetre, and have a level of close control which often belies their lofty frames. The reason everyone is so much more excited about Włodarczyk is probably on account of his being two years younger than Benedyczak, and there is probably also an element of traditionalism. As an out and out striker, Włodarczyk is much more suited to that type of role than Benedyczak, at least so far in their respective careers.
It’s for this reason I am not at all surprised by the flurry of reports in recent days that Fernando Santos is strongly considering handing Włodarczyk a call-up this Thursday ahead of the next international break. With Arkadiusz Milik only getting 15 minutes here or there with Juventus in their first two Serie A matches, Dawid Kownacki rooted to the bench at Werder Bremen and Krzysztof Piątek having apparently fallen off the face of the Earth by going to play for Istanbul Basaksehir, it makes sense to try and bring a newer, younger striker into the fold. It makes even more sense when you consider Włodarczyk’s evident prolific record since the start of his time with his new club, but whether he’ll actually get called up, let alone get time on the pitch, remains to be seen.
Benedyczak is, understandably, a way away from finding himself turning out for the national team. There is less excitement and less attention around him, perhaps due to him playing a role which wouldn’t really fit the national team, which might explain the lack of perceptible buzz that there is with Włodarczyk.
In any case, both of these forwards have had fantastic starts to the 23/24 season, and regardless of whether it continues they are definitely two players to keep an eye out for over the course of the next nine months.
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