Bednarek bought by Southampton

The 21-year-old is the homegrown player of Sokol Kleczew. The defender joined Lech 5 years ago. He debuted in the senior team on September 23^rd, 2013 in an away clash with Piast Gliwice. In the season 2014/15 he played for Gornik Leczna on loan. Having returned to Poznan, Bednarek started appearing on the pitch regularly. During the last season he played in 34 matches for Lech.

“Jan’s transfer is a result of his relentless hard work, tons of patience and the trust he’s given to us. A year ago when he returned to Poznan, a lot of people were skeptical. Meanwhile, Bednarek not only fought his way into the starting line-up, but also won the admiration and sympathy of the fans thanks to his attitude and character. We are proud that our homegrown player will now compete in Premier League and we wish him a lot of luck,” said Piotr Rutkowski, Lech’s vice-chairman.

Bednarek’s good form was noticed by a number of experts. In January 2017 the defender was awarded the title of “Finding of The Year” and at the end last season he was also nominated in the categories of “Finding of The Year” and “Defender of The Year”. In June the footballer competed on U21 European Championships where he played in all 3 matches.

Southampton was ranked 8th in Premier League last season. The team has recently changed the coach. Claude Puel was replaced by Mauricio Pellegrino. Bednarek won’t be the first Pole to represent The Saints. Bartosz Bialkowski, Kamil Kosowski and Grzegorz Rasiak used to compete for Southampton.

Bednarek has 40 appearances in Lech on his account, as well as one goal and one assist. Together with the club from Poznan, he won the Championship in 2015 and the Polish Super Cup in 2016.