Image via Mikolaj Barbanell/Shutterstock
The situation with Szymon Żurkowski at Fiorentina seems to be getting more and more toxic by the week. Reports from Meczyki in Poland suggest multiple issues hampering the 25 year-old midfielder’s chances of playing in Florence.
Firstly, it was reported that Żurkowski is fifth or sixth choice in the midfield three favoured by coach Vincenzo Italiano. Recent reports have also claimed that Italiano has harboured further resentment against Żurkowski due to Selekcjoner Czesław Michniewicz “pestering” Italiano to give Żurkowski minutes on the pitch ahead of the World Cup.
Given all these reported problems, we can expect Żurkowski to move clubs in January. He was linked heavily with Empoli and Spezia in the summer (he spent last season on loan at Empoli and Spezia already have three Polish internationals in their ranks). Reports in Italy also claim that Bologna are showing an interest in Żurkowski, so in theory he has plenty of options.
However, this still doesn’t solve the issue of playing time before the World Cup. Michniewicz will surely have to take Żurkowski just due to the well-documented dearth of options in Poland’s midfield thanks to injury. Michniewicz had made overtures that Żurkowski’s place in the squad was at risk, but it’s hard to imagine that being the case now we are only 20 days away from Poland’s first game in Qatar.
I wrote recently about Żurkowski facing the same issue that Tymoteusz Puchacz is at Union Berlin, but since that article Puchacz had a good game in the DFB Pokal (even scoring) and was rewarded with his first Bundesliga start. It’s still not enough, but it’s an improvement. Żurkowski can’t even get these cup minutes for Fiorentina.
Unfortunately, it’s highly likely the situation won’t improve for Żurkowski until he moves clubs, and obviously that will take place after the World Cup.
For more, follow @ekstraklasaexp on Twitter and @ekstraklasaexports on Instagram to know when new posts go live.
Comments