Porto spent just under €10 million to secure the services of Poland's top talent. Born in 2008, Oskar Pietuszewski was playing for Jagiellonia Bialystok until a few months ago, but last January he became the subject of the highest transfer fee in the history of the Polish league. To be precise, the Portuguese club spent €8 million to sign what is now, a couple of months after his arrival, one of the best young players in Europe. He has played seven games for Porto, four of which as a starter, scoring two goals and providing one assist in the last three league games, also contributing to the draw with Benfica with a great goal.
AFPROLE AND CHARACTERISTICS
Pietuszewski is a winger who prefers to play on the left in a trident formation (he has always played in this position since joining Porto), but can also be deployed on the other wing or as an attacking midfielder behind a striker if necessary. In Poland, he has been labelled the 'new Lewandowski', not so much for his characteristics - which are different from those of the Barcelona striker - but for the level he can reach and the possibility of becoming a symbolic player for Poland, just like Lewa. Porto has secured him with a contract until 2029 (he is still 17 years old and the maximum that can be done for underage players is a three-year contract) and a release clause of €60 million.
THE CROSSROADS WITH FARIOLI
Having come through the youth ranks at Jagiellonia, Pietuszewski made his first-team debut in August 2024 at the age of 16 in a Europa League play-off match against Ajax. On the other side, on the Lancers' bench, was Francesco Farioli, who is now his coach at Porto. Despite losing the title after being overtaken by the second-placed team despite having a comfortable lead, the Italian coach relaunched Ajax after a poor season by developing many talented players who were then sold by the club or who are now key members of the team. One of Farioli's best qualities is his work with young players, and Pietuszewski is in good hands, having become a star of European football in just a few months.
Advertisement
