Extra Class: Shopping in Poland

The Ekstraklasa is a minor league, there's no doubt about that. It's nowhere near the leagues it should be aspiring to compete with. For me, those should be the Belgian Pro League and the Dutch Eredivisie. If we go down a level, maybe the Swiss and Czech leagues.

That last part is starting to happen. Poland isn't just the fifth most populated country in Europe, something that doesn't necessarily demand a close relationship with football either, but it's also a country fanatical about football. And in recent years the domestic competition, helped by the creation of the Conference League, has grown considerably.

The Europa League and the Champions League remain out of reach for Polish clubs, which means the country regularly puts all four of its teams into the same competition, Europe's third-tier one. That's where the points in the UEFA coefficient come from, points that have pushed Poland up to 12th position in the UEFA Ranking.

Six seasons ago, the Ekstraklasa sat in 30th place in the continental rankings.

More clubs in Europe, more money in the domestic market, more competitiveness in the league. Poland is the most competitive league in Europe. And it keeps selling more expensively and spending more.

In FIFA's annual report on the transfer market, we can see that in Poland the percentage of sales that involved a transfer fee (that is, in which the buying club paid an amount to the Polish selling club) has grown by almost 6 percentage points since 2021.

On the other hand, Polish clubs are willing to pay more to sign the players they're interested in. In 2025, Polish clubs spent $53.6 million. An unimaginable figure a few years ago.

All of this (the league's growth in Europe, its internal competitiveness, clubs being willing to pay more for players and making efforts to retain young talent...) has resulted in more and more clubs keeping an eye on the rising level of Ekstraklasa players.

For this reason, today we're going to take an in-depth look at three young players with real upside who could bring in a lot of money for Ekstraklasa clubs, and who you shouldn't lose sight of.

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Wojciech Monka - Lech Poznan - 2007

Monka is a product of Lech Poznan's academy, which for many is the best youth academy in the country right now. A 2007-born centre-back who is closing in on 1.90m in height and who is about to play his third season with the first team. In 25/26 he came close to two thousand minutes, a figure that, barring injury or a sale in the remainder of the transfer window, he should surpass this new season.

The Pole stands out mainly with the ball at his feet. He handles both legs skilfully to carry the ball and to pass it.

His command of both legs, above all, allows him to play indistinctly on the left or right side of the back line. Add to that the unexpected composure he shows on the ball at just 19 years old.

80 centre-backs played 450 minutes or more in the Ekstraklasa last season, but only 67 of them attempted, on average per match, more passes under pressure. Of the 80 centre-backs, no one topped the Pole's 89.47% success rate on this type of pass.

Fortunately for him, he is at a club that suits him perfectly. Lech Poznan had possession 57.6% of the time, more than anyone else last season, and want to progress in a controlled way with a large volume of passes per possession and, above all, plenty of short passing.

That means Monka averaged 53.2 passes per match, more than 69 of the 80 defenders in our sample. The more passes, the greater the chances of being aggressive with your passing, that's true.

However, on top of having plenty of opportunities to pass the ball, Monka shows the ability and willingness to thread dangerous passes to his teammates. Passes that, moreover, he disguises genuinely well, making it hard for opponents to read his intentions.

With the ball at his feet, his numbers are outrageous. Only one centre-back was involved in creating higher amounts of xG per match, he ranked sixth in progressive passes and third in progressive carries. He also took part in 4.65 shot-ending sequences per match, a figure only two centre-backs in the Polish league surpass.

Ironically, the person writing this came across Wojciech Monka's profile in a peculiar way: with the aim of putting together a piece on possible replacements for John Stones at Manchester City, Monka made his first appearance in front of me.

Note: the chart, in English, cross-references the numbers of defenders from most leagues in South America and Europe in the 25/26 season with Stones' numbers in his best season at Manchester City (22/23). On the Y-axis we have Ball Retention (%) and on the X-axis we have Progressive Carries.

The doubts surrounding Monka arise from the limited amount of defensive actions he has to carry out on a team that dominates possession to such an extent. Even so, I think he is a fairly passive defensive profile. More about reading the game and intercepting with good timing than about being aggressive and stepping out of the defensive line to cover the wide channels.

He also wasn't involved in many aerial duels, and when he was, he didn't win more than he lost.

Personally, I see a centre-back who will very soon make the jump to one of Europe's eight best leagues. His level is self-evident and his potential could be worth a lot of money. He has to polish certain things, and he raises doubts for me in a context opposite to his current one. His defensive passivity doesn't inspire much confidence in me.

But it wouldn't surprise me if he became the most expensive sale in Ekstraklasa history a year from now. Especially if his club manages to reach the Champions League.

Wojciech Urbanski - Legia Warszawa - 2005

In the middle of the revolution that has taken place, and is still taking place, at the capital's club is Urbanski. The Pole is a U21 international with his country, but he isn't coming off the best of seasons. You could argue that for long stretches of the season the club's dynamics got the better of him a little.

Let's remember that in March the Wojskowi were caught up in a relegation battle, despite finishing the season in sixth place, and that they had four coaches in just 9 months of competition.

In that kind of climate it's always going to be harder to perform well. Much more so if, as happened to Urbanski, you keep getting shuffled from position to position. In his case, between the flank and the middle of the pitch.

The bad thing about this is that a young player like the Pole never gets to properly settle into one position. The good thing is that, in theory, he has a set of tools to do well in several positions. In Urbanski we highlight his mobility and his defensive commitment, but also his boldness on the ball.

He's a player who participates very, very little, but who at the same time seems to be everywhere. That's his strong point: his stamina, his ability to keep going, to be able to repeat those actions that don't get noticed as much but that are vital. Off-the-ball help, the run that drags a defender away and creates space.

As you can see in the image, Urbanski gets an Endurance Score of 78.5 from us, higher than 112 of the 117 central midfielders with more than 450 minutes.

This tells us about a player who stands out for his aerodynamic capacity, who spends the match running at a sustained speed and who doesn't produce as many top-speed sprints as others. He's a player built for stamina, for endurance and for repeating medium-intensity efforts.

With our Arrigo data, we can also see that he's above 81% of central midfielders in off-the-ball movements, with most of these runs being made ahead of the ball carrier, without breaking the defensive line (8.75 per match).

He moves off the ball to help his team's circulation, and off the ball to bite at the opponent.

He was the third player in the Ekstraklasa 25/26 to attempt the most pressures. With more or less success, this tells us more about his willingness than about his ability, which in some cases is quite a bit more important.

It's also worth noting that 18.4% of Urbanski's recoveries are quick recoveries, meaning they happen within the 8 seconds after his team loses the ball.

I still have my doubts about his position. His top speed is around average, he's not a slow player, and he also makes high-intensity runs frequently — in fact, his figure of 49.9 High-Speed Runs (HSR) is only surpassed by 4 central midfielders. But he doesn't have the technical ability to get out of tight spaces or two-on-one situations with any regularity.

In central midfield, and carrying the ball with power through the middle, he can do more damage. Moreover, with his excellent stamina-based physical profile, being more centrally positioned will help him get involved in a lot more actions.

Urbanski is a good player who I don't think is ready yet to make the jump to a starting role at a good top-eight club. If he's going to participate so little with the ball, he needs to maximise his interventions, and right now he isn't doing that. Off the ball and in the collective effort, he has shown potential.

If Legia have a calmer season, Urbanski will play more and we'll be able to see what his real potential is, but based on what he's shown so far there are positive signs.

Maksym Khlan - Gornik Zabrze - 2003

He's not that young anymore, but Khlan's progression over the last three campaigns, since joining Lechia Gdansk from Ukraine's Zorya Lugansk, suggests he could be heading into his definitive breakout year.

In 23/24, his first in Poland, he racked up 10 goals and 2 assists in 1. Liga, the country's second division, and earned promotion to the Ekstraklasa. After that, 4 goals and 3 assists to help confirm the club's survival from the coastal city earned him a transfer to Gornik Zabrze.

Last season was a resounding success for the Górnicy, the fourth club with the most seasons in Polish football's top flight. They achieved a commendable second-place finish that gave them access to the Champions League play-off round. The Zabrze side's strong performance provided an extra boost for Khlan, who registered 6 goals and 4 assists.

It's a very interesting development for a player with a profile that maybe isn't seen that often in Poland: a right-footed dribbling winger who receives the ball just as comfortably out wide as he does coming inside.

He's a tiny (1.73m) but elastic Ukrainian player when it comes to turning and feinting. Let's say he doesn't turn in stages — his whole body moves at once. From there he changes direction with ease, feints one way and the other, lowers his centre of gravity, and can accelerate and decelerate frequently. He's another player who, when taking on defenders or carrying the ball in tight spaces, makes effective use of both feet.

He's fearless, there's no doubt about that. His 6.9 attempted dribbles per match were the third-highest figure among the 43 wingers in the Ekstraklasa with more than 450 minutes last season.

He's not afraid to ask for the ball in tight spaces and shows the personality to receive it and carry it into more dangerous situations. He was the player with the most touches in the opposition box per match on average, with 6.03.

In the heat map we can see that he dribbles both hugging the touchline and coming inside, around the edge of the box, and always from the left, on his weaker foot. He's a player who, for now, focuses more on volume than efficiency. He completed 73 of 160: that's a lot of successful dribbles, but he also attempts a lot. It's a 45.6% success rate, a figure only six wingers in the Ekstraklasa 25/26 did worse than.

Khlan is a short-space dribbler, not one for long carries where he beats several players. In fact, his carrying and chance-creation numbers, assists or shots (goals), are decent but not among the best in the Polish league.

On the other hand, he does use the dribble as a means to an end: shooting. Only Mariusz Fornalczyk (24) and Leonardo Sanca (36) had more total shots preceded by a dribble than his 23. That's perhaps why how much he dribbles isn't as important as where he does it and what comes after the dribble. If he manages to beat his man, he's probably in a position to shoot, which is genuinely interesting.

This combination of traits (dribbles coming inside, few dribbles on long carries, and the purpose behind them) paints the picture of a player with, let's say, limited movement. For me, and this is something that can always be worked on, he is a player who, for now, focuses much more on receiving the ball at his feet than on making breaking runs.

With our off-the-ball movement metrics we can confirm exactly this: while Khlan was the sixth winger with the most support movements per match, on all other types of runs he was below 60% of Ekstraklasa wingers. While this is more of an inherent trait and could create conflict on a team that demands more off-the-ball movement from him, it's not something that will stop him from jumping to a better league in the future.

What is genuinely a concern is his shot selection: last season he shot 63 times, scored 6 goals and generated 4.7 xG. In isolation, those figures don't look bad. However, the average danger of each of the Ukrainian's shots is very low. 72% of wingers in the Polish league averaged more danger per shot than he did.

There are reasons for optimism, or for doubt. Because while we can see that many of his shots come from outside the box (small dots meaning low probability of scoring), Khlan did increase the theoretical danger of his shots with his execution (from 4.7 xG to 5.1 xGOT, which tells us the danger of the shot once it leaves the boot, factoring in whether it's low or high, how close to the corner it is, the goalkeeper's positioning...).

In my opinion, Khlan is another player who wouldn't be harmed by one more year in the Ekstraklasa. To fully settle in, to become one of the team's leaders in a year in which, in all likelihood, they will be playing in European competition.

Right now he's a dribbler with a lot of volume but not much efficiency, who is bold enough to receive the ball at different heights but with inconsistent decision-making. Even so, he produces good numbers, tries to make things happen (something that should never be undervalued), and his finishing ability needs work but has potential.

However, with his contract finishing next summer, Gornik have to make a decision: tie him to a new contract or sell him now that they can get a fee.

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