It’s been a very long time where it felt like there were so many talking points around Polish football in just one weekend, but the past couple of days have seen so much occur that I felt it was best to get it all down in one place with an article. Having planned to write a much briefer article earlier in the week, it has worked pretty well that it can all be summed up in one bumper edition.
Fair to say it wasn’t a huge surprise that Nicola Zalewski left Roma this January, given there had been so much talk of him being sold this past summer and the list of clubs interested. A move to Olympique Marseille was reportedly close on several occasions both last summer and this past month, and yet Inter Milan ended up being Zalewski’s destination.
An initial loan with an option to buy, Zalewski agreed to extend his Roma contract to push this move through. I have to say I was surprised that a club of Inter’s calibre, in the Serie A title race and expecting to go deep into the Champions League, wanted Zalewski even for a rotation option. Not because I doubt Zalewski’s quality, but simply because all of the other clubs Zalewski was previously linked with were sideways or backwards steps in my opinion.
Equally pleasantly surprised was I to see Zalewski introduced towards the end of the Milan derby, at which point Inter were a goal down and having several potential equalisers either ruled out or springing back off the frame of the goal. It really did not seem like it would be Inter’s day, but in stoppage time Zalewski popped up at the back post and chested the ball into Stefan de Vrij, who snatched a well-deserved equaliser.
It’d be fair to say that Zalewski is unlikely to get significantly more playing time off the bench at Inter than he was at Roma, but in the brief debut he had not only did he assist a crucial goal but he showed a few more flashes of his talent, which was pleasing to see as at club level he doesn’t always seem to have the same confidence as when he turns out for Poland.
Moving across the continent, Krzysztof Piątek is having a season almost comparable to his storied 2018/19 campaign. Granted it is the Turkish Süper Lig and Uefa Conference League rather than Serie A in which Piątek is doing this, but it’s still a really impressive accomplishment. A hat-trick for Piątek against Samsunspor on Saturday night took him to 18 goals in the Süper Lig this season, and with each of the goals very different (albeit close-range) finishes he is showing an instinct in front of goal that had perhaps been missing at other times over the course of the last five years. I really hope he can stay fit and be a key part of Poland’s attack in the next international break.
As for the other key part of Poland’s attack, Robert Lewandowski also added to his tally in La Liga with the only goal in Barcelona’s win over Alaves. Whilst Lamine Yamal rightly received the plaudits for his eye-catching performance, it was Lewandowski’s close-range volley which proved the difference. Now on 18 goals in the league, it’s pleasing to see Lewandowski so far showing little sign of slowing down and Barcelona returning to good form after a wobbly period towards the end of 2024.
Speaking of wobbles at Barcelona, Wojciech Szczęsny did not enjoy a great time of it against Benfica in the Champions League the other week, but since then has been in good form when he has played and manager Hansi Flick has confirmed that Szczęsny will be first choice for the foreseeable future this season. I’m pleased for Szczęsny, especially after a lot of punditry in Poland suggesting he was a fool to come out of retirement just to sit on the bench in Barcelona.
Moving onto the fortunes of other Polish goalkeepers, I was dismayed to see Jakub Stolarczyk dropped by Leicester after what had been a really good run in the team, culminating in a solid performance in a shock win against Tottenham. The Foxes duly lost 4-0 this week at Everton, and whilst this was not down to the sudden change in keeper, it could explain some of the very nervy defending on show.
This is all comes as reports were starting to circulate that Stolarczyk was being considered by Selekcjoner Michał Probierz for a call-up in March, and whilst this would likely only be as a third or fourth choice goalkeeper it would still be a real feather in Stolarczyk’s cap.
The Ekstraklasa also returned this past weekend, and whilst there weren’t any stone-cold classics there was still entertainment to be had. The much-anticipated clash between Raków Częstochowa and Cracovia was pretty terrible but the absolute pasting that Jagiellonia Białystok handed out to Radomiak Radom on Sunday more than made up for that, with all five goals coming in the first half.
One of the most high-profile moves this January when it comes to Polish football, at least in my opinion, is Kacper Urbański’s loan to Monza from Bologna. It was pretty depressing to see Urbański sat on Bologna’s bench week after week and I, like many invested in Polish football, had hoped to see him secure a loan this transfer window.
I understand that Monza, who are currently bottom of Serie A, will guarantee Urbański lots of playing time for the rest of the season (he has played 90 minutes in both games since his arrival). However, Monza are having a really rough season and whilst Urbański is guaranteed time on the pitch he is more likely to be on the losing side, so his individual development and his team’s development may not dovetail in the same fashion.
According to reports, Urbański had the option to move to La Liga on loan as well, but preferred to stay in Italy. I actually think that this is a really wise decision; there is an element of knowing the league and the style of football, and unless it is a permanent move there is no need for Urbański to try and broaden his horizons just yet in my view.
Another intriguing loan move was that of Kamil Piątkowski heading to Kasimpasa in Turkey, on loan from Red Bull Salzburg where he was actually having a really good individual season even if the team wasn’t, although he had fallen out of favour thanks to a change in manager.
Piątkowski will no doubt play a lot of football with this loan and I severely hope he remains an important part of Poland’s squad this coming spring, given the ability he was able to demonstrate during the otherwise lacklustre back half of the Nations League campaign.
Furthermore, it’s yet another talented Polish player plying their trade in the Turkish Süper Lig, really helping to cement why for me it’s such a watchable league. Not only do we have the aforementioned outstanding goalscoring of Piątek, but Kacper Kozłowski is playing very well at Gaziantep and Jakub Kałuziński is continuing his very good development with Antalyaspor.
Finally, Tomasz Włodarczyk revealed early on Monday morning that Roma had an €8m bid for Jan Bednarek rejected by Southampton, and had moved on to other targets. For me, it comes as no surprise that Southampton would not want to let Bednarek leave in January. They may be having a dreadful season, but they picked up their second league victory at the weekend and Bednarek has been one of the only bright spots in a team which has otherwise failed to re-adapt to the rigours of Premier League football.
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