Who is new Napoli signing Piotr Zieliński?
Thursday, August 4, 2016
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Poland's No10 of tomorrow; a player who has "everything it takes to become a great midfielder"; Napoli look to have picked a winner in Piotr Zieliński.
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Piotr Zieliński has become the latest high-profile Poland player to move this summer, joining Napoli – where he will link up with international team-mate Arkadiusz Milik.
A few weeks back, Zieliński looked set to sign for Liverpool, but the deal stalled and instead the 22-year-old has left Udinese for another Serie A side.
Most would concur that Napoli have picked a winner in the all-action player, who was drafted in from Zagłębie Lubin's youth team by Udinese for €100,000 in the summer of 2011. His reputation grew over the course of two seasons on loan at Empoli. He played 28 games in 2014/15, most as a substitute, but last term became a key man thanks to his versatility.
Mostly used on the right side of a diamond formation, Zieliński proved he can cover several roles and demonstrated a nose for goal too, chipping in with five strikes in 35 games. "Zieliński has everything it takes to become a great midfielder," said Empoli boss Marco Giampaolo.
The attacking midfielder – whose older brothers Paweł and Marek are both decent players too – has plenty of fans in Poland. Capped 16 times, he made one appearance at UEFA EURO 2016, with Polish Football Federation (PZPN) president Zbigniew Boniek having said on more than one occasion: "In Zieliński, we have our national-team No10 for many years to come."
To further raise the pulse back at home, Zieliński will help supply chances for Milik, who became Poland's most expensive player when he swapped Ajax for Napoli late last month.
