Polish football legend Zbigniew Boniek has been blown away by the skills of reported Liverpool target Kacper Kozlowski, telling Sport PL the youngster outshone Jamal Musiala, Jude Bellingham and Harvey Elliott at a youth tournament.
While Musiala, Bellingham and Elliott are now strutting their stuff on the biggest stages, Kozlowski is still waiting for his big break.
Having said that, he might not have to wait much longer.
According to The Mirror, Premier League giants Liverpool are closing in on a deal that would see the five-cap Poland international join Elliott on the red side of Stanley Park in 2022.
Likened to Manchester City kingpin Kevin De Bruyne thanks to his defence-splitting passes, Kozlowski is already one of the most influential players in the Ekstraklasa despite his tender age. He has contributed a goal or an assist in almost half his 12 appearances for Pogon Szczecin this season.
Liverpool target Kozlowski stood out more than Jude Bellingham
“A few years ago I was at the Mermaid Tournament (a youth competition featuring some of Europe’s brightest talent). Musiala, Elliott, Bellingham and Kozłowski played there,” says Boniek, a former Juventus and Roma star who finished third in the Ballon D’Or standings in 1982.
“I must say that then Kacper was beyond them.”
Earlier this month Robert Lewandowski, Boniek’s closest challenger for the title of the greatest Polish footballer of all time, insisted Kozlowski would be better off playing regular first-team football at Pogon Szczecin than risk wasting his talent on the bench at a bigger club.
And Boniek agrees.
“I think if a young player is to go to a foreign club only to play for the U21s, U23s or any other junior team, it would be more useful if he stayed in the Polish league,” adds Boniek.
“Senior football is a completely different level, regardless of the league.”
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