Michał Karbownik has made two appearances for Brighton & Hove Albion since he joined the Premier League side from Legia Warsaw in 2020.
The Seagulls initially allowed the 22-year-old return to the Polish club on a loan deal for the 2020/21 season before cutting short his temporary stay there in January 2021. This had an impact on his preferred playing position on the pitch.
That’s according to the Brighton player’s agent, Mariusz Piekarski, and he made this claim during Interia Sport’s Po Gwizdku.
Karbownik initially started in the middle of the pitch before being deployed as a fullback. This transition, as per his representative, happened after Brighton recalled him from Legia Warsaw in 2021.
“Michał played as ‘eight’ at Legia and presented himself very well there,” he said.
“Even before his debut in the first team, Marek Papszun [former Raków Częstochowa manager] went to a reserve match and later wanted to see him again. Raków was looking for an ‘eight’ at that time, so something dawned in his head.
“He called me and asked about Michał. But I told him that there was no topic, because Karbownik will make his debut in the first team and will stay there.
“Later there was an injury, Michał caught the coronavirus, he had a tibia fracture. The shortening of his loan [at Legia] by Brighton took away his dream of playing as an ‘eight’, as the English [club] saw him as a fullback from the beginning.”
Brighton have allowed the Poland international to go out on loan since the start of the 2021/22 season. He’s currently at Fortuna Düsseldorf, who have an option to make his transfer permanent.
Karbownik’s agent has now admitted his client has accepted it’s difficult for him to play in the midfield in the future.
“Michał will play in the defence, we leave the idea with eight. If he’s experienced, maybe a coach will try him out. Karbo went to the side of the defence at Fortuna and will stay there. And if he changes the club, it will also be as a fullback,” Piekarski explained.
