Pogon Szczecin make contract offer to Kacper Kozlowski

Pogon Szczecin have made an initial attempt to bring Kacper Kozlowski back to his boyhood club, according to reports in Poland, with the Ekstraklasa side said to have presented the midfielder's representatives with a lucrative contract proposal.

Early move for a former academy player

Kozlowski, a Poland international, is entering the final year of his contract with Gaziantep FK, a situation that makes the current transfer window particularly significant for the Turkish club. The 22-year-old is understood to have attracted interest from a number of teams, including clubs in his homeland.

Polish outlet pogonsportnet.pl reports that Pogon have already sent an offer to the player's agents as they explore the possibility of a return. The proposed terms are said to include a salary of more than €1.2m per year, alongside a three-year contract with an option to extend by a further two seasons.

At this stage, however, the process appears to be in its infancy. The same report indicates that Pogon have not yet submitted an offer to Gaziantep, underlining that the player's own willingness would need to come first before any formal negotiations could progress.

Pogon's summer rebuild under Oscar Garcia

Pogon are looking to reshape their squad after a difficult Ekstraklasa campaign in which they eventually finished ninth. During Thomas Thomasberg's spell in charge, the club spent part of the season looking over its shoulder, although it ultimately secured a mid-table finish.

Oscar Garcia is now in charge and the club has already been active in the market. Four new players have arrived:

• Darko Churlinov from Kocaelispor
• Jean-Pierre Nsame from Legia Warsaw
• Nikolaos Botis from Olympiacos Piraeus
• Attila Szalai from Hoffenheim

A move for Kozlowski would represent another ambitious step, especially given the financial scale of the reported proposal.

Why the deal would matter

Kozlowski came through the academy at Pogon and played for the first team between 2016 and 2022 before leaving for Brighton in January 2022 in a deal worth €11m. His time in England did not develop as hoped, and he later joined Gaziantep FK in July 2024 for €200,000.

Any transfer fee required to complete a return could be a major factor. Pogon's current transfer record stands at €900,000, paid for Efthymios Koulouris and Vahan Bichakhchyan, so a permanent move would need to be carefully structured if it were to advance beyond the exploratory stage.

There is also competition for the player in the wider market. The source material says Kozlowski has previously drawn attention from Galatasaray, Besiktas, Trabzonspor, Brondby Copenhagen, AC Monza and Venezia, which suggests Pogon would need more than sentiment alone to win the race.

Focus remains on player and timing

For now, the key detail is that Pogon have made contact and put forward terms designed to tempt Kozlowski back to Szczecin. Whether that develops into a formal transfer pursuit will depend on the player's stance and on any subsequent talks with Gaziantep.

On the pitch, Pogon began the new Ekstraklasa season with a 1-0 defeat to Legia Warsaw and next face Cracovia in the second round of fixtures. Off the field, though, attention may now turn to whether the club can turn an ambitious proposal into one of the most eye-catching moves of its summer.