Southampton loanee Jan Bednarek made a ‘poor choice’ when opting for Aston Villa over Premier League rivals West Ham United on the final day of the summer transfer window, former Poland international Kamil Kosowski tells Przeglad Sportowy.
Bednarek, capped 44 times by his country, is almost an automatic pick for Poland coach Czeslaw Michniewicz these days.
A place in the squad, however, and a place in the XI are two very different things. And with Bednarek struggling to secure regular minutes at Aston Villa, Kosowski wonders if the Saints-owned centre-half may wish he’d put pen to paper with another claret-and-blue based club instead.
Southampton loanee Jan Bednarek chose Aston Villa over West Ham United
“He recently changed club. (Bednarek) moved from Southampton to Aston Villa. He had another option, because West Ham was also trying to get him,” explains Kosowski, who made over 50 appearances for Poland between 2001 and 2009.
“And so far, the choice can be described as poor. In Birmingham, the coach has changed (Steven Gerrard replaced by Unai Emery). And Jan is not playing.
“Aston Villa won 4-0 in the last round, and he sat out the game on the bench. I think if he chose the Hammers’ offer, his chances of playing would be much better.
“West Ham plays in European cups and David Moyes needs a large squad to rotate. Bednarek would have more minutes there. And, without them, it may not be possible to prepare for (a place in the) starting line-up at the World Cup.”
Bednarek, who joined Southampton back in 2017 for £5 million, has started just one Premier League game so far for Aston Villa. That lasted just 45 minutes too; hauled off at the break with Fulham running rings around a beleaguered side while hammering the final three nails into Gerrard’s Villa Park coffin.
Bednarek, Gerrard’s final signing in the second city, now faces an uncertain future with the man who brought him to the club having been succeeded by former Arsenal, Sevilla and PSG coach Emery.
‘A poor choice’?
“First, (Bednarek) talked to David Moyes, who invited him to West Ham and said that he needed a centre-back because the defender they had brought for 35 million euros (Nayef Aguerd) had suffered a serious injury,” explains Michniewicz.
“And Jan was determined to go there. He wanted to compete with their other centre-backs. West Ham have a lot of games because they also play in the Conference League.
“But then Steven Gerrard called him and the conversation was different. He told him that he would be an important player for him. He used the argument of the World Cup; ‘I know you want to go to the World Cup. You will be playing for me. I also have (Poland team-mate) Matty Cash here, so it’s good for your team’.
“This declaration convinced him.”
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