Ludovic Obraniak Shutterstock

Polish midfielder Rafał Wolski signed for Italian club Fiorentina at the end of January in a deal claimed to be worth EUR2.8 million. The 20-year-old only broke into Legia Warszawa’s first team last season, but after a number of inspiring performances in the Europa League, he has now been snapped up by the Seria A side.

Mr Wolski made his debut for the Polish national team in May 2012 in a match against Latvia and has since gone on to earn two more international caps. In signing for “La Viola” he now joins a select list of Polish players to have made the move to the Italian league. 

Southampton goalkeeper and former Legia man Artur Boruc played 62 times for Fiorentina over two seasons before moving to the Premier League in September 2012. But arguably Poland’s greatest-ever export to Italy was current Polish Football Association chief Zbigniew Boniek, who played in a Juventus midfield that included Michel Platini in the 1980s. Mr Boniek spent six seasons in Seria A, playing for both Juventus and Roma and was given the nickname “bello di notte” (beauty of the night) by former Juventus president Gianni Agnelli, due to his inspirational performances in night matches.

Polish international midfielder, French-born Ludovic Obraniak, was also surrounded by transfer speculation as deadline day approached last week. The Bordeux player was reportedly the subject of a EUR10 million bid from Zenit St. Petersburg, which would have made him the most expensive Polish player in history. However, the deal did not go through before the midnight deadline on January 31.

David Ingham