Ekstraklasa Transfer Record: Steve Kapuadi Moves from Legia Warsaw to Widzew Łódź

Steve Kapuadi is one step away from becoming a new player for Widzew Łódź. As reported by leading sports services, Legia Warsaw has accepted a lucrative offer amounting to 3 million euros. This is a record amount in the history of direct transactions between clubs in Poland's top football league. The French defender is undergoing crucial medical tests on Tuesday, February 24, which are the final stage before signing the contract. Unofficial information suggests the player can expect an annual salary of up to one million euros in Łódź. Importantly, 30% of the transfer fee is set to go to the player's former club, Wisła Płock. The acquisition of the Frenchman is another stage of Widzew's aggressive transfer policy, which has already brought in seven players during the winter window, including Osman Bukari and Bartłomiej Drągowski. Despite spending nearly 20 million euros, the team led by Igor Jovićević currently occupies the second-to-last place in the table, finding itself in the relegation zone. This situation has sparked a wave of criticism among experts and fans. Former PZPN president, Zbigniew Boniek, openly criticized the club's current actions, suggesting that the priority should be bringing in an effective striker, not more defenders. The PKO BP Ekstraklasa has struggled for years with the problem of low-value internal transfers, where the best players usually leave directly to foreign leagues, and amounts exceeding one million euros between Polish clubs are rare. Simultaneously with transfers, Widzew is grappling with infrastructure problems. The condition of the pitch at the stadium at al. Piłsudskiego 138 was described as a "potato field" after the recent goalless draw with Cracovia. The club's owner, Robert Dobrzycki, however, confirmed ambitious plans to expand the facility from the current 18,000 to a larger number of seats, driven by consistently high attendance. The decision to replace the pitch now lies with the city authorities, who own the facility. „Jeśli dzisiaj Widzew potrzebuje czegoś, to potrzebuje dobrego napastnika” (If Widzew needs anything today, it needs a good striker) — Zbigniew Boniek The rivalry between Widzew Łódź and Legia Warsaw, called the classic of the Polish league, has its roots in the 1980s and 1990s, when both clubs regularly fought for the championship title.