Transfers, European qualifiers and the return of the Ekstraklasa: plenty to excite fans of Polish football as we head into 2026-27

Images via @SLBenfica and @LechPoznan on Twitter, Mikolaj Barbanell/Shutterstock

Returning to this website after an extended break on account of the World Cup, and it feels like there’s been a sizeable amount of change in Polish football. Some of these changes, like transfers, are obvious. 

Other changes seem more to do with a growing self-confidence, something that in the time I’ve been interested in and been writing about Polish football, has never really been there. I’ll be picking out a couple of high-profile transfers for Polish players from this summer so far, as well as discussing the ongoing European qualifiers for the Polish clubs taking part, vying to compete in not just the Champions League, but also the Europa and Conference Leagues as well.

If that isn’t enough, I’ll also be throwing ahead to the coming Ekstraklasa season, which begins on Friday evening. There’s plenty to get our teeth into, so let’s get going.

I’ll be starting with what, for me, are three of the more unexpected but pleasantly surprising transfers of Polish players so far in this window. Namely, we have Jakub Kamiński moving to Benfica, and both Michał Skóraś and Maik Nawrocki signing for RC Lens. 

Let’s deal with Kamiński’s transfer, which seemingly came out of nowhere. After having spent last season on loan with Köln, they bought him permanently at the conclusion of the Bundesliga season. Very little time had elapsed before it was reported that Brighton were strongly considering activating Kamiński’s release clause, and then out of seemingly nowhere came the news that Benfica were indeed snapping him up as one of the first signings under new boss Marco Silva. 

I think this is a really strong move for Kamiński. We’ve seen over the past decade or so Polish talents move to the Premier League and struggle to flourish for a multitude of reasons, and there was some hesitancy from pundits and fans alike that Kamiński might end up yet another. A move to Portugal however, has been proving a good decision for the trio of Polish players at Porto as well as keeper Cezary Miszta at Rio Ave. 

Not only does Benfica give Kamiński a shot at flourishing better than perhaps Brighton might’ve been able to, but it’s an opportunity to fight for titles and play European football under a manager who has done some really underrated work in recent years. To me, it has all the makings of a successful move. 

Likewise the Polish duo who are the “incomings” at RC Lens, Skóraś and Nawrocki. I have to say these moves were also a little surprising to see. Skóraś had been playing well in Belgium but I was skeptical that he would get a “big” move this summer, and the same is true of Nawrocki’s appearances on loan at Hannover in the 2. Bundesliga. 

Lens will also be playing European football this season in the Champions League, and they have punched well above their weight domestically for a few seasons now. Therefore, Skóraś and Nawrocki have the opportunity to play regular football at a higher level than they have managed so far in their careers, and I am of the opinion this is a challenge they can rise to. 

Another transfer that I liked but haven’t yet mentioned anywhere on this website was Oskar Wójcik’s move to Werder Bremen. He’ll be linking up with compatriot Dariusz Stalmach, who has also joined the club this summer. I have to say I was expecting Wójcik to leave the Ekstraklasa this summer but I would be lying if I said I expected him to be the most expensive transfer a club would make, although even at what some would say to be a paltry reported €3m fee, he is on course to be Bremen’s most expensive signing of this window. I think he will adapt well to the Bundesliga, although given the battle against relegation the club found itself in during last season, it might be an uphill battle. 

Finally, last night saw the debut of Robert Lewandowski for Chicago Fire in the MLS. Despite having written properly about this transfer last time out, I thought it prudent to touch on what was a difficult debut for him. He wasn’t the worst player on the pitch, but he was fairly anonymous in the hour he played. Fair to say he will need time to adapt and get himself up to speed, but I think this would be the expected outcome for a nearly 38 year old player joining a new club. 

Moving on, and time to discuss a very good performance by Lech Poznań in their Champions League qualifying match against Danish champions AGF Aarhus, battering them 4-1 away from home. Granted, Aarhus went down to ten men late in the first half, but by that time Lech were already a goal up and the visiting Polish champions never really looked back. An opportunity at a clean sheet was thwarted but it was nevertheless a really impressive all round performance, about which there are one or two reservations but nothing drastic. 

Prior to the match there was a sense from Polish pundits that Lech had been given a tough draw, although not as tough as Górnik Zabrze (more on that later). This has now been replaced with a wave of confidence and declarative statements that Lech might become, if they advance to the league phase, the kind of powerhouse force that only really Wisła Kraków in the 2000s and Legia Warszawa in the 2010s managed in terms of juggling domestic and European football. Some pundits are even suggesting Lech can bypass these two similarly placed sides that have gone before, and whilst again I have some reservations, I see no reason that they couldn’t if they get that far.

This self-confidence in Polish football, particularly relating to the club sides, really hasn’t been there for as long as I can remember writing about it, or even for the few years before I started this website. Even last summer you still had some journalists and fans saying that Polish clubs were “only” in the Conference League, despite the fact that competition has greatly boosted Polish football’s reputation. 

The confidence has even spread (rightly) beyond Lech’s dominant display on Tuesday to the much trickier task Górnik faced away in Istanbul to Fenerbahce. Losing narrowly 1-0, there is still a sense that despite the mismatch in terms of quality on paper, Górnik are very much in the tie and still have a real shot at advancing. 

I almost feel like even if Lech don’t make the league phase (which might just be a step too far), or if Górnik go out, we should still feel like that self-confidence is not misplaced. The Ekstraklasa is now ranked as the 11th best league in Europe, if you listen to the UEFA coefficient. Considering that four years ago when I started writing about Polish football, it was ranked 28th, it is a massive achievement that everyone should feel really proud of and confident about. There is a very real chance that we can call the Ekstraklasa one of Europe’s top ten leagues this time next year, depending of course upon the European performances this season from Polish clubs. 

Of course, Polish clubs aren’t just in the Champions League qualifiers, we also have Raków Częstochowa and GKS Katowice taking part in Conference League qualifying this week and in a few weeks time we’ll see Jagiellonia Białystok face up to what you assume would be quite a tough task in playing Rangers in Europa League qualifying. There is the safety net of the the Conference League play-off round for Jagiellonia, but I think they still have a chance against Rangers. 

Without resorting to hyperbole, this is a really incredible chance to see all five of these clubs playing in European competitions by the end of the qualifying stages. Okay, Lech and Górnik may not make the league phase of the Champions League, although I think Lech will be very close. That’s okay, because due to the drop-down way these qualifiers work, I believe both clubs would get into the Europa League come September time. I think even if Jagiellonia don’t triumph in their qualifiers for the Europa League, they will achieve Conference League football for themselves. Raków I expect to be playing in that completion also and I think GKS Katowice will make a good fist of their qualifying too. 

Realistically, one of these clubs probably will fall short of competing in the league phases, but even so to have four clubs in European competition is absolutely nothing to be sniffed at, and shows us how rapidly the Ekstraklasa is rising in quality. 

Speaking of, the Ekstraklasa returns this Friday evening, and I for one am very excited. Celebrating it’s 100th year, as the league commemorated with a rather cute advert, I expect that we’ll see a similar trajectory in terms of the ability of teams as we have these last few seasons, because there is no reason to think otherwise anymore. 

I’m particularly looking forward to a pair of what seem to be mouth-watering games during this first weekend, firstly Pogoń Szczecin taking on Legia on Friday night, and then the returning Wisła Kraków against GKS Katowice on Sunday night. 

As for the rest of the season, there is no reason why Lech shouldn’t be favourites again at this point in time, and quite comfortable favourites at that. I think the rest of the top five who will be seeking the European places could be in any order, but I think the quality of players at Raków and the level of coaching at Jagiellonia would make them fairly safe bets, and I think Legia will manage it because Marek Papszun pretty much always delivers. There’s an outside shot at Widzew Łódź simply because of the fact they have some top players, but whether or not the supporting cast and the manager can strike the right balance after a shocking time of it last season remains a big question mark. 

The headline of the promoted teams is of course the return of Wisła Kraków, and I would be surprised if they go straight back down given the fact they were comfortably the best team in the 1. Liga last season and they have players with top flight quality in the squad. Śląsk Wrocław I’m not quite as confident in, as the turnover in their squad over recent years means I have a feeling they might become something of a yo-yo team. Lastly, we all know that Wieczysta Kraków have and will continue to throw money at staying up, and they have a decent side on paper, but I’m not sure how that will translate. Either way, it’ll be fun finding out. 

If you’ve made it to the end of this article, firstly thank you, as it’s taken quite a while to corral all of it together, and secondly, let’s all kick back and enjoy the Ekstraklasa’s opening weekend. 

For more, follow @ekstraklasaexp on Twitter and @ekstraklasaexports on Instagram to know when new posts go live.