When Leicester City Kasper Schmeichel left this summer for OGC Nice, it was well known it was going to be hard to find another keeper who could fill the hole the Denmark international and Foxes legend left behind.
Schmeichel was not only a fantastic goalkeeper, but he was a legend to the club as well. Hoping to find the next legendary goalkeeper for Leicester City, Brendan Rodgers turned to Danny Ward. The Foxes signed the Welsh native from Liverpool in 2018 for a transfer fee of £15m. Ward would be the backup keeper behind Schmeichel and would just make a couple of appearances every season. Rodgers decided this was the season Ward would be ready to take the job and start consistently.
It unfortunately has not gone well for Ward. Leicester is currently bottom of the table and their 24 goals allowed is the most in the Premier League. The fans have been demanding change, and LCFC has decided to look at potentially signing Polish goalkeeper Bartłomiej Drągowski. The 25-year-old currently plays for Serie A side Spezia and looks to be an upgrade for the squad. With that in mind, here are three things to know about possible new Leicester City goalkeeper Drągowski.
The Pole has spent the last eight seasons in the Serie A
In the 2016 summer transfer window, Fiorentina signed Drągowski for a fee of £2m. Since then, he has only played Serie A football. In his first two seasons with Fiorentina, he only made four appearances with the squad. Wanting to get their youngster some experience, the 20-year-old would be loaned out to Empoli.
In his one season with Empoli, Drągowski made 14 appearances where he was able to keep three clean sheets. He would return to Fiorentina and would spend one more season as the second choice keeper. The following season he would become Fiorentina’s starting keeper at the age of 21.
The Polish keeper would spend the next two seasons as the starter where he would make 67 appearances. He recorded 16 clean sheets and maintained a save percentage of 67.6%. The 21/22 season would be a halt in Drągowski’s momentum as injuries and fitness issues left him only making seven appearances that season.
Drągowski would join his third Serie A squad, Spezia, this summer for a fee of £2m. Drągowski is now playing in his eighth consecutive season in the Serie A. But, a move to Leicester would make it just seven and a half seasons.
Bartłomiej Drągowski has the record for most saves in a Serie A game
While out on loan at Empoli, the 20-year-old made history. On Apr. 15, 2019 Empoli went up against Atalanta. Fighting for a champions league spot, Atalanta let the shots rain on Drągowski and the Empoli defense. They recorded 47 shots with 18 of them being on target. Drągowski saved 17 of those shots.
Against the likes of Duvan Zapata, Alejandro Gomez and Josip Illicic, the then 20-year-old was able to record a historic accomplishment. The game would end in a 0-0 draw as Atalanta was not able to draw even on points with fourth place AC Milan.
Leicester City target started playing professionally at the age of 15.
At just the age of 15 years old, Drągowski signed his first ever professional contract. Playing for Ekstraklasa Jagiellonia, he was called up to their main team in the 13/14 season. He would only make one appearance that season where he allowed four goals and made three saves.
The following season, he would be Jagiellonia’s starting goalkeeper. The Polish native would make 34 starts where he was able to record eight clean sheets. His side would finish 11th in the league. This was the last season Drągowski has not played in the Serie A.