Sam Greenwood joined Pogoń Szczecin for a Polish league-record fee last month.
Pogoń Szczecin chief Tan Kesler believes Sam Greenwood can become a ‘trendsetter’ for English footballers after leaving Leeds United for the Polish top-flight.
Greenwood joined Pogoń for a reported €4million (£3.45m) last month after being told by Leeds he was free to find a new home. The 23-year-old signed a three-year contract with the option of further 12 months, having seen loan clubs Middlesbrough and Preston North End opt against triggering permanent options in the previous two summers.
Pogoń’s £3.45m outlay represents a record transfer for the Polish Ekstraklasa, eclipsing the £2.6m Legia Warsaw spent on Watford’s Mileta Rajovic earlier in the summer. The attacking midfielder’s destination was a surprise to many but Tesler, who had worked in the Championship previously as Hull City vice-chairman, hopes more could follow in his footsteps.
"It was quite an exciting transfer for us, obviously,” Tesler told talkSPORT. “Me being from England, and then knowing the Championship dynamic, knowing the league's organisation right down the street from us and also knowing how much they invested in players like Sam, Joe Gelhardt.
"Sam has always been a dynamic player, versatile, had different things to offer on the pitch, whether it's a false nine, whether it's a ten or whether sometimes it's an eight. We were in need of a position in such, but also we were looking for a marquee player who could commence other leagues.
"He's not only a leader, he's a marquee player, but also he's going to be this trendsetter or example for all the English players who want to consider playing in the Polish league as well.”
European football possible for Leeds United exit Sam Greenwood
Greenwood’s new club were within touching distance of a European football slot in the previous campaign, finishing fourth but just three points behind the third and final Europa Conference League place. This season, they sit seventh with 10 points from seven games.
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Robert Kolendowicz’s side will be looking to bridge that gap between now and the campaign’s end with hope they can squeeze into European competition next season. And Tesler believes that ambition was part of the picture that convinced Greenwood to switch Leeds for Pogoń.
"He knew that we were always going to be chasing the European competitions,” the Polish club’s CEO added. “He did say, honestly, to be fair, he felt like he wanted to take up a challenge in Europe and be a European player, a high-level European player. Obviously, there are a number of British players going from England to Germany, Italy. We thought about why not Poland.
"He was very keen on it. He realised that it could be his starting point to go to bigger leagues from us. He's one of the most historic players for us in terms of what we are investing financially. But it was not a financial discussion. He really was on board to play European football. We had to convince him that we can give him that European football within the infrastructure and management we have.”
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