Kacper Szymon Kozłowski (born 16 October 2003) is a Polish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for Turkish

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

club

Gaziantep Gaziantep, historically Aintab and still informally called Antep, is a major city in south-central Turkey. It is the capital of the Gaziantep Province, in the westernmost part of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region and partially in the Medi ...

and the Poland national team.

Club career

Kozłowski started his career with

Pogoń Szczecin Pogoń Szczecin Spółka Akcyjna, commonly referred to as Pogoń Szczecin (), is a Polish professional football club based in Szczecin, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, which plays in the Ekstraklasa, the top tier of the national football league s ...

. In January 2022, he transferred to

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

side

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...

for a reported fee of £8,000,000, where he was immediately loaned to Brighton's sister club

Union SG Royale Union Saint-Gilloise (), also known as Union Saint-Gilloise, Union SG or simply Union, is a Belgian professional football club from Brussels based in Forest. Founded in 1897 in the neighbouring Saint-Gilles, the club has played its home ...

Belgian First Division A The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023– ...

for the rest of the season. In August 2022, Kozłowski joined Vitesse in the Netherlands on loan until the end of the 2022–23 season. On 18 July 2023, he rejoined Vitesse on another season-long loan spell. On 19 July 2024, Kozłowski left Brighton to join Turkish club

permanently for an undisclosed fee.

International career

In June 2021, Kozłowski featured for

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international men's association footb ...

in a 1–1 draw with

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, to become the youngest player of any nationality to play at a

European Championship A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

, aged 17 years and 246 days, breaking the previous record of

Jude Bellingham Jude Victor William Bellingham (born 29 June 2003) is an English professional Association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Real Madrid CF, Real Madrid and the England national football team, England national team. Finis ...

, who himself had broken the same record only six days prior. He kept the record until 2024, when

Lamine Yamal Lamine Yamal Nasraoui Ebana (born 13 July 2007) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a winger for La Liga club Barcelona and the Spain national team. Known for his flair, chance creation, and long-distance curling goals, Yamal ...

debuted at the European Championship at 16 years and 338 days. Kozłowski was named in the provisional squad for

for the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

campaign, but he was not included in the final 26-man squad.

Personal life

On 10 January 2020, Kozłowski suffered a traffic accident that almost ended his football career. Whilst on his way to training for Pogon Szczecin with two of his teammates, their car was involved in a crash. Suffering the most severe injuries of the three, Kozłowski had broken his pelvis and broke three vertebrae in his lower back. Despite the near life-ending and career-threatening injury, he managed to recover and return to football. Speaking to

Goal A goal or objective is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan, and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to ...

in 2021 about the accident, he said ''"I couldn't train for almost half a year. It was a difficult time, but I focus on the here and now, not the past"'' and stated that the experience might help him mentally in the future having gone through it. In the ''NXGN 50'' in 2022, Kozłowski was ranked as the 19th best wonderkid in football.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Individual * Polish Newcomer of the Year: 2021 *Ekstraklasa Young Player of the Month:

December 2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns, and the largest economic recession since the Great Depr ...

*NXGN (19th of 50): 2022

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kozłowski, Kacper 2003 births Living people Footballers from Koszalin Polish men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Pogoń Szczecin players Royale Union Saint-Gilloise players SBV Vitesse players Gaziantep F.K. footballers Ekstraklasa players III liga players Belgian Pro League players Süper Lig players Poland men's international footballers Poland men's youth international footballers Poland men's under-21 international footballers UEFA Euro 2020 players Polish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Polish expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in England Polish expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Polish expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Polish expatriate sportspeople in Turkey 21st-century Polish sportsmen