Despite Leicester’s poor start to their return to the Championship, Jakub Stolarczyk has been one of the few revelations. The Polish shot stopper became City’s number one this summer following the departure of Mads Hermansen to West Ham. Prior to this, Stolarczyk had already impressed under both Enzo Maresca and Ruud Van Nistelrooy in his minimal gametime. However, with him now the first choice, he is making a major impact in various areas for the Foxes.
Jakub Stolarczyk: One of Leicester’s Few Positives
Career So Far
Due to the ruling allowing young players to move over to England, Stolarczyk arrived in the East Midlands back in 2017. He quickly progressed through the youth sides, whilst enjoying loan spells in Scotland and across the EFL. His 17 League Two Appearances in the 2022/23 season coincided with Leicester’s relegation to the second tier, following a dismal season. Consequently, Maresca became manager and gave the 24-year-old plenty of opportunities. That season, Stolarczyk made nine appearances, four of which came in the F.A Cup, where he played a major role in Leicester’s run to the quarter-final.
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The following season, an ankle injury left him sidelined for the early part of the club’s return to the Premier League. As a result, third-choice keeper, Danny Ward, featured in humiliating defeats against Newcastle United and Wolves, as Van Nistelrooy’s side shipped seven goals. Once back from injury, Stolarczyk made his Premier League debut on Boxing Day at Anfield in a 3-1 defeat to the eventual title winners. Despite the loss, Van Nistelrooy did praise his keeper, as he stated: “Jakub made an excellent debut today, which is very positive for us and for him.”
Although he played in only 10 league games, he ended the season having played in three of City’s six wins. One of which was away at Spurs, where he made multiple important saves to hold off the home side. Due to Hermansen’s expected departure, the Polish international was always seen as the eventual successor, given his age and performances. A new deal was also penned that same summer, which helped fight off interest from fellow Championship club Norwich City, who had bids rejected. With a strong start to the 2025/26 season, it’s safe to say he is here to stay.
Transforming Leicester’s Weaknesses
In comparison to Leicester’s more recent options between the sticks, Stolarczyk very much differs from his predecessors. Standing at six feet four inches tall, he has a perfect frame for imposing himself and being dominant aerially. This is also a reflection of the statistics this season, as he is in the top 12 percentile for crosses stopped, whilst also not conceding any corners.
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Whereas both Kasper Schmeichel and Hermansen were more diminutive, and as a result, can struggle in this aspect of goalkeeping. Evidence to suggest this is the 2021/22 season, where Leicester and Schmeichel’s struggles with corners became problematic. By late February, City had conceded the highest Expected Goal total of any team in the league from corners, with 7.68. At the time, this led to Brendan Rodgers’ side conceding 13 goals from set-pieces, the highest total in the league.
Outside of this, Stolarczyk also performs well in other areas. A recent form of analysis shows he ranks high for both constituent shot-stopping and dominating from corners. Clean sheets against both Charlton and Birmingham are certainly the best examples of the quality he can provide when his side has less possession. Furthermore, he also excels at saving penalties as he has already foiled Mihailo Ivanovic’s chance from 12 yards out, when Leicester lost to Millwall.
Flaws and The Future
When Maresca selected Stolarczyk over both Iversen and Ward two years ago, ability on the ball would have certainly been important. Although he isn’t as good as Hermansen was at soaking up pressure and being calm, the Polish international was still better than his predecessors. This time, under the Italian bodes well in his development and growth, considering he was playing in the fourth tier of English football a few months earlier.
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This ability to quickly adapt was another reason for Leicester’s trust in him. To make the step up to Championship and Premier League football in such a quick time is hugely impressive for a goalkeeper.
However, this isn’t to say he doesn’t have his own flaws. At times, the 24-year-old struggles with his handling and tends to parry shots into danger areas. For example, against West Brom, he made a diving save from a free kick, but the parry gave Maja a perfectly placed rebound, which should have doubled the Baggies’ lead. Furthermore, his distribution can at times come under scrutiny as he can rush and be wasteful, but it wouldn’t be fair to say this always happens.
His ability to quickly adapt was another reason for Leicester’s trust in him. To make the step up to Championship and Premier League football in such a quick time is hugely impressive for a goalkeeper. Although he is currently injured with a groin issue, which was sustained against Middlesbrough, Stolarczyk will be hoping to get back to his best as soon as possible.