Glik signing for Cracovia is the sort of transfer that Ekstraklasa clubs should be chasing after

Image via @MKSCracoviaSSA on Twitter

It’s been a while since I’ve written about how the Ekstraklasa can raise its profile, and make it seem attractive as a spectacle to an audience that perhaps wouldn’t really consider tuning in, especially outside of Poland.

I’m pretty sure the last time I mentioned this sort of thinking that I proposed signing older Polish stars could be a really great way of achieving this in the short term. I may even have mentioned Kamil Glik.

Obviously, those who’ve been keeping an eye on these things will know that after Glik’s Benevento side was relegated to the third tier of Italian football, he’s returned to Cracovia on a two-year deal, which would take him past his 37th birthday.

Glik has spoken about having offers from some Serie B teams, but felt a return to Poland might aid his chances of getting a call-up for the national team once more, with his sights set specifically on Euro 2024. Personally, I think there are probably eight or nine centre-halves who are ahead of Glik in the pecking order, but stranger things have happened and as we saw with Thursday’s Poland squad, some more experienced players are being welcomed back.

There were numerous reports that Legia Warszawa were strongly considering signing Glik, but opted against it on the basis of his advanced years. Cracovia have got themselves a very good player who has (more or less) seen it all, and it again comes back to the idea that older Polish players with big reputations can be serious attractions for Ekstraklasa clubs.

As I mentioned in one of yesterday’s articles, Grzegorz Krychowiak may be a polarising figure in Polish football, but if he were to also return to the Ekstraklasa in the next 12 months it’d be seriously good for the profile of the league. To think you might have all four of Glik, Krychowiak, Lukas Podolski and Kamil Grosicki playing in what is still in most people’s eyes a minor league would be a draw, as they are all notable Polish (or ethnically Polish in Podolski’s case) stars of yesteryear to varying degrees.

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