Former Celtic striker Dariusz Dziekanowski reckons that new Hoops signing Maik Nawrocki can make a name for himself in Glasgow and can go on to make Celtic a significant transfer profit further down the road. And Big Jacki also reckons that the former Legia Warsaw defender can break into the Poland national team in September on the back of a positive start to his time wearing the world famous Hoops.
That however won’t start today when Celtic take on Wolves in a friendly match in Dublin as Maik Nawrocki’s absence through a slight injury picked up ahead of his move to Celtic, will mean he will have to sit out today’s game.
Celtic spent £4.5m bringing the 22 yer-old Nawrocki to Parkhead from Legia Warsaw and Dziekanowski reckons that this would not have happened unless Celtic planned to play his fellow countryman as a regular first choice defender. Jacki provided some background to Maik’s career so far in his interview with Daily Record and the former Celtic striker is confident that Nawrocki will prove to be a huge success at the Scottish Champions.
“When Nawrocki first came from Werder Bremen, he wasn’t a recognised player. He then played for Legia and made progress,” Dariusz Dziekanowski said. “In Legia he became consistent, he showed more responsibility. He’s very good on the ball, a right-footer, very comfortable and good at reading the game.
“He will be a better player than Yuki Kobayashi, who I saw in a few Celtic games. Although Nawrocki will need experience of Scottish football, he is more ready than Kobayashi.
“Celtic are paying good money for Nawrocki, Legia are very happy with this money. I hope he is worth this. I didn’t think someone would pay £4million because Legia didn’t win the title. But when you pay that money, you’re not only paying for now but for the future. He’s only 22. So you know if he plays well for Celtic in the Champions League, all of a sudden, you could have a player worth £8-15m,” Jacki said.
Jacki also talked about the personality players need to be a success and mentioned the likes of Artur Boruc and Josip Juranovic coming to Celtic from Legia Warsaw. He could also count himself in this category.
“Some people walk down the street and you never recognise them. Others walk just once and you always remember them. Nawrocki must show a personality to play for Celtic. He must recognise Celtic paid over £4m and that is a value not for the bench.
“That’s money paid for you to very quickly adapt to Celtic and play for the first team. He must seize every chance he gets to persuade and say to people: I am good enough. I hope fans like his style straight away but he must be braver on the pitch.
“You can win over the supporters of Celtic if you are 100 per cent focused and fearless. You must make brave decisions, but not stupid ones. And be like Josip who came to Celtic from Legia and made an impact. Everyone hopes Maik has the same potential and that he makes the same effort as him.”
Dziekanowski reckons that early progress at Celtic will see Nawrocki break into the Poland national squad very quickly. Nawrocki was named in Poland’s provisional pool for the World Cup but didn’t make the 26-man squad that travelled to Qatar.
But according to Dariusz Dziekanowski, Celtic’s Nawrocki could be to solve Poland’s problems in the centre of defence. “We have problems with this position, we’re looking for central defenders. If he’s playing well at Celtic then, for sure, he will be in the Poland squad – maybe even in September.”
HUGE SAVINGS IN THE CELTIC STAR’S SUMMER SALE!
-
![]()
- Summer Sale – Just £11
-
![]()
- Summer Sale – Just £11
-
![]()
- Harry Hood – Twice as Good
-
![]()
- Summer Sale – Just £6
-
![]()
- Summer Sale – Just £6
Ah Big Jacki, a super guy. To be honest, i would certainly like to think Rocki would be better than Kobay, i dont think that would be a big ask considering what Kobay has shown so far.
I wonder how well Nawrocki would do if he moved halfway across the world to a place he didnt speak the language and people wrote him off after two minutes , the lad should change his name to Kobi-Bashi .