Lech’s youngsters in the lead again

Even without looking at the youth ranks of PKO Ekstraklasa, it’s easy to predict which club has the best statistics. Lech Poznań has been putting a big emphasis on homegrown players and they didn’t let the club down. 12 players born in 1998 or younger have worn Lech’s shirt this season. The youngsters from Poznań lead in terms of minutes spent on the pitch, number of appearances, as well as goal and assists. Hence, it’s no surprise that Lech’s homegrown players have already scored 20 league goals this season.

Goals | assists of homegrown youth playing in PKO Ekstraklasa (2019/20):

1. Lech Poznań: 20 | 12
2. Zagłębie Lubin: 14 | 4
3. Jagiellonia Białystok: 13 | 6
4. Wisła Cracow: 6 | 0
   Wisła Płock: 6 | 1
5. Śląsk Wrocław: 5 | 4
6. ŁKS Łódź: 3 | 2
   Pogoń Szczecin: 3 | 4
7. Arka Gdynia: 2 | 3
   Cracovia: 2 | 3
   Legia Warsaw: 2 | 4
   Piast Gliwice: 2 | 2
8. Górnik Zabrze: 1 | 1
   Korona Kielce: 1 | 0
   Raków Częstochowa: 1 | 10
9. Lechia Gdańsk: 0 | 2

The rank also includes the assists of players who were born in 1998 or younger. As you can see, Lech dominates in this category too.

“We are thrilled with the performance of our youth. They aren’t afraid of challenges and we can count on them even in the most difficult moments, such as the clash with Piast. They are paying the club back for all the trust. It’s a pleasure to have players like that in the squad; they have been performing well since the start of the season. It’s a strong, talented group. We know they haven’t yet reached their peak – they have been improving week in week out, and we shouldn't forget that there are more youngsters eager to debut in the senior team,” highlighted Rząsa.

The key to success is the number of players who took on the responsibility of scoring goals for Lech Poznań. The youngsters are the authors of 35% of goals scored by Lech this season. If we compare those statistics to other clubs, the number of youth goal scorers makes a big difference. Only Zagłębie came close to Lech with 5 different youngsters getting their name on the goal scorers sheet. Meanwhile, Jagiellonia largely owes their third place to Patryk Klimala who left the club in winter.

Goals scored by Lech’s youth players in PKO Ekstraklasa (2019/20):

1. Kamil Jóźwiak: 6
2. Jakub Moder: 4
3. Paweł Tomczyk: 3
   Tymoteusz Puchacz: 3
4. Jakub Kamiński: 2
   Filip Marchwiński: 2