Who Is This Swedish Winger That Leeds Are Trying To Sign On Deadline Day? Everything You Need To Know

Scout Report – Pawel Cibicki

Leeds United are on the brink of completing a £1.5million deal for Swedish forward Pawel Cibicki, with the 23-year-old having netted 22 goals in 110 games in his native country and even gaining experience playing in both the Champions League qualifiers and the Europa League.

Thomas Christiansen continues to look for reinforcements for his Elland Road squad, though they have made an impressive enough start to the season and remaining unbeaten so far. Cibicki could add a little quality to the ranks though, here is what we know about him so far:

History

Although his parents were born in Poland, no shock to anyone given his name, Pawel himself was born in Malmo in 1994 and at the age of just 6, he was picked up by Nydala IF. Four years followed before he was chosen to continue his football education at FC Malmo, though only a year there followed before a transfer in 2006 at age 12 to Malmo FF.

Seven years in the youth ranks there went well and it led to a first team debut in 2013, with Cibicki going on to play 57 league games for the club, scoring 11 times. In 2016, he did have some time on loan at Jonkopings Sodra IF where he impressed, scoring 10 league goals in 26 games.

He was chosen to represent Poland under-19’s and under 20’s but now plays his international football for Sweden under-21’s, having played 10 games and scoring once so far. A full Swedish debut has been mooted.

Style Of Play

Pawel is just under six feet tall and as such likes to to use his height and strength in the box, playing as a proper centre-forward. He is, however, capable of playing out on the left wing too and so he doesn’t mind using that as a starting position before receiving the ball and driving inside the box, much like the legendary Thierry Henry.

His Future

His rise has neither been slow nor meteoric, having been picked up early (six years old) before moving steadily through the ranks, especially at Malmo FF. This will stand him in really good stead and at 23 years of age, he will feel full of energy, yet experienced enough to make this move now.

I’d say he’ll need his first year in the Championship so fans should perhaps not expect too much, though he definitely has an eye for goal and his movement is good.