Of the many goings-on at the end of the transfer window, you may have missed Jarosław Jach departing Crystal Palace for Rakow.
The defender has joined the PKO Ekstraklasa side on loan for the season, with first-team football not on offer at Selhurst Park.
Competition at centre back was already fierce at Palace, with the arrival of Gary Cahill only adding to the fight for places.
It’s the third loan in two years for Jach, who has spent time at Caykur Rizespor and Sheriff since joining Palace in a £2.5m deal from Zaglebie Lubin in the January transfer window last year.
He will be hoping this loan is the one in which he can truly shine and either earn the eye of Roy Hodgson at Crystal Palace or find himself a permanent move with regular football elsewhere.
If his latest comments are to be believed, though, this latest short-term move away was forced upon him more than anything else.
“In the last week of the transfer window, Rakow appeared, and everything happened quite quickly, and I did not think too long.
“As a matter of fact, I had two choices then – either to return to Poland and play for Rakow Częstochowa, or stay at Palace without a guarantee of games, or rather that I will spend Autumn sat on the bench.
“I did not undergo pre-season with the Eagles, which only reduced my chances of a possible game. Added to this is the fact that another player has been added in my position – Gary Cahill, who is a very decorated player.
“Although there was no clear declaration from Crystal Palace that I would either go on loan or heat the bench, I decided to play for Rakow.”
