Brighton & Hove Albion’s Michał Karbownik has been out on loan since he arrived at The Amex in 2020.
Last summer, the Seagulls let him join Fortuna Düsseldorf on loan with an option to buy. Operating mainly as a left-back, he’s made 23 appearances, managing a goal and seven assists in the process.
Friday’s Rheinische Post have a report on the Brighton owned player, titled: ‘Karbownik’s future is still completely open’.
Within the report, it’s said the Poland international’s performances for the second division German club has also attracted attention of other clubs.
When describing his qualities, the report states: ‘He’s a type of player that’s quite rare in Europe. He has a reasonable basic speed, the technical prerequisites (narrow ball control) to go into one-on-one situations and the game intelligence to get involved accordingly. It takes special class to defend him when he’s going full speed ahead.’
The purchase option should make it comfortable for Fortuna Düsseldorf to make the 22-year-old’s stay permanent. However, it isn’t so simple because they cannot afford to pay the fee needed to buy the Brighton man.
There’s been claims stating the purchase option has been set around €3m. With other clubs showing interest in the fullback, Fortuna Düsseldorf could exercise the buying option and then sell him to make profit in the next window.
Rheinische Post state the German club have until the end of May to make a decision on the defender. Their sporting director, Klaus Allofs, has also commented on this topic.
“Of course, we talked intensively with Micky and got very positive signals from him. He feels very comfortable with us. Nevertheless, you have to see what is possible for us,” he said.
With regards to buying Karbownik and then selling him to another club, Allofs explained: “There hasn’t really been any movement on the market yet, we have to see how everything develops.”
At the moment, Karbownik’s future seems to be up in the air. He should have clarity in over a month’s time.
