Spezia president Philip Platek admits it was a ‘very difficult decision’ selling Jakub Kiwior to Premier League leaders Arsenal in a £20 million January deal, speaking to Sportowe Fakty.
As recently as 2021, Poland international Kiwior was being put through his paces in the reserves at Slovakian outfit MSK Zilina. In fact, he only made his first strides in a major European league around 18 months ago.
Kiwior’s unveiling at the Emirates Stadium last month, then, was the culmination of a remarkable rise from one of Europe’s most exciting young centre-halves.
“He came to Spezia from the Slovakian club, and quickly proved his gigantic potential. He is a central defender, but he can also play in other positions,” Platek explains, the Serie A outfit making a colossal profit on the 22-year-old colossus.
“When we had injuries to defensive midfielders, it was no problem for Kiwior to play there as a substitute. And when he went to the World Cup (with Poland), I immediately thought; ‘A lot of people will come for him soon’.
Jakub Kiwior leaves Spezia for Arsenal
Platek was right.
According to Kiwior’s agent, speaking to TV Play, Napoli, AC Milan and Juventus all ‘showed an interest’ prior to his client signing a long-term deal with Arsenal. Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United had also been linked at various points in 2022.
“(Selling Kiwior) was a very difficult decision,” Platek adds. “It’s true, we already received some offers in the summer. There were different offers, different packages. Some low, some high. In the end, as you know, it was Arsenal.”
Kiwior could make his Arsenal debut in this weekend’s trip to struggling Everton. A cultured, left-footed centre-half, he will add some valuable competition with Gabriel Magalhaes for a place in Mikel Arteta’s XI.
“Kiwior‘s transfer to Arsenal? It is (source of) a pride for everyone; from the club to the player,” admits Stefano Melissano, Spezia’s sporting director.
“We are proud and happy that Jakub will have this experience at one of the world’s top ten clubs. We’ve lost an excellent player and youngster, but we are still Spezia. We will continue to have our identity.
“We’re happy. Our transfer market was the result of work planned in the previous months. Now, we have to fix something (following Kiwior’s exit).”
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