Can Bartosz Kapustka still shine at Leicester City?

The 22-year-old captained Poland’s under 21’s side in their friendly against England last night, but can he make a lasting impact at Leicester City?

Signed for a reported £7.5 million in that infamously poor summer transfer window back in 2016, the Polish starlet had drawn the attention of Europe’s elite after an impressive European Championship.

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However, like many of the signings made following Leicester City’s Premier League title win, Kapustka failed to hit the ground running. Since then, he has spent time on loan at both Freiburg and OH Leuven, whilst making just three cup appearances for the Foxes.

The big question that remains is, despite failing to impress for various domestic sides, why is Kapustka captain of his national youth side? What can they see that us, as well as Leicester City can’t?

The Pole is a hard-working, skilful winger and has the potential to perform on the biggest of stages, highlighted by his eye-catching showing at Euro 2016. Freiburg sporting director, Jochen Saier best summarised the situation back in 2017, stating that:

"“Bartosz is a very technical player and has a very good feel for the game for his age. For him, more than anything, it’s now about rediscovering that talent on the pitch.”Via Bundesliga"

There can also be no doubts about his international experience. At the tender age of 22, the same as current first team stars James Maddison, Ben Chilwell and Demarai Gray, Kapustka already has 14 senior caps, in which he has scored three goals.

Following his sterling performance against Northern Ireland at Euro 2016, Gary Lineker tweeted: “Sense we’ll see a lot of Kapustka in the coming years. Deliciously talented 19-year-old.” We can only hope that Gary’s prediction will still come to fruition.

However, the young winger hasn’t exactly set the world alight at OH Leuven, where he is currently on loan, having scored four goals in 20 appearances.  If he can’t do it in Belgium, how can he succeed in England’s top flight?

The main argument to this is that the 22-year-old is simply not playing with good enough players at Leuven, while there is plenty of evidence to suggest that he could flourish in City’s current side, that is full of vibrant, young players.

Although Kapustka was unfavoured by the previous, more defensively-orientated Claudio Ranieri and Claude Puel, the appointment of Brendan Rodgers could spell a turning point for the young Pole at Leicester City. He has the potential to flourish under a more attack-minded boss.