page_title: Tomasz Kuszczak
section_title: Manchester United
hierarchical_section_title: Tomasz Kuszczak / Club career / Manchester United
caption_attribution_description: English: Tomasz Kuszczak
context_page_description: Tomasz Mirosław Kuszczak is a Polish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper, most recently for English club Birmingham City.
  Born in Krosno Odrzańskie, Kuszczak previously played for Śląsk Wrocław in Poland, as well as for the German clubs KFC Uerdingen 05 and Hertha BSC, before moving in 2004 to England with West Bromwich Albion. During the summer of 2006 he transferred to Manchester United and in 2012 joined Brighton & Hove Albion, who released him at the end of the 2013–14 season. After spending the later part of the 2014–15 season with Wolverhampton Wanderers, he signed for Birmingham City in July 2015.
  Kuszczak made 14 appearances for the Poland under-21 side and has been capped 11 times at senior level. He was a member of the nation's squad at the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
context_section_description: On 7 July 2006, it was confirmed by West Bromwich Albion manager Bryan Robson that Manchester United had made a bid of around £2 million for Kuszczak. On 3 August, West Brom rejected a £2.5 million bid for Kuszczak from United, citing that a one-year loan spell for United starlet Giuseppe Rossi would also have to be included along with the cash to result in a deal. On 10 August 2006, Kuszczak joined Manchester United in a deal involving the transfers of England Under-18 goalkeeper Luke Steele and defender Paul McShane to West Brom. When officially announcing the move, United failed to state the terms of the deal, leading to suggestions that it was a merely a loan deal. Chief executive David Gill clarified the situation, stating, "Tomasz will be a Manchester United player for the next four years, he has come to us on loan for the first year, and then will join us permanently in July 2007."
  Kuszczak made his debut against Arsenal on 17 September 2006, he conceded an early penalty but did redeem himself by saving the ensuing spot-kick from Gilberto Silva. Despite saving the penalty, Arsenal's Emmanuel Adebayor scored a late goal which gave them a 1–0 win at Old Trafford, which was the club's first defeat of the season. His first start came in a 2–1 away win over Crewe Alexandra in the League Cup on 25 October. He had his name misspelled on the back of his shirt during this game, with it incorrectly reading "Zuszczak". Although Kuszczak did not play enough Premier League games in the 2006–07 season, he received a winners medal by special application to the Premier League.
  On 2 July 2007, Manchester United announced that the permanent transfer had been completed, for a fee of £2.125 million. Due to Dutch keeper Edwin van der Sar's continued good form and Ben Foster's knee injury, Kuszczak was named Manchester United's number 2 for the 2007–08 season. During an interview in May 2007 Kuszczak stated that he wanted one day to become the number 1 at Manchester United.
  On 8 March 2008, in an FA Cup tie against Portsmouth, Kuszczak replaced the injured Van der Sar at half-time, only to receive a straight red card for a foul on Milan Baroš 30 minutes later. Rio Ferdinand was forced to take over in goal, but failed to save Sulley Muntari's penalty, resulting in United being knocked out of the competition.
  In September 2008, Kuszczak signed a two-year extension which would keep him at Old Trafford until 2012. However, after being overlooked in favour of Foster for the 2009 League Cup Final, Kuszczak faced problems in aiming to become United's new first choice after Van der Sar's retirement and expressed discontent with his situation at Manchester United. In 2009, he was said to be considering his long-term future at the club. Kuszczak kept a clean sheet in his first game of the 2009–10 season, a 1–0 home win over Wolverhampton Wanderers in the third round of the League Cup. After Van der Sar suffered an injury, Kuszczak returned to the side for a match against Portsmouth on 28 November. He retained his position in the starting line-up for United's League Cup fifth round match against Tottenham Hotspur, the next league game against West Ham United and the last game of the Champions League group stage against Wolfsburg. Kuszczak kept another clean sheet in United's final game of the decade as they beat Wigan Athletic 5–0 at Old Trafford. However, Van der Sar's return to the team in January 2010 saw him lose his place in the side. He started, however, in the 2010 Football League Cup Final against Aston Villa, which saw him fail to save a penalty in the first minutes of the game, although United went on to win the trophy, after a 2–1 victory.
  Kuszczak revealed Alex Ferguson blocked his move to Leeds United on loan. On 3 February 2012, Ferguson confirmed that Kuszczak would be out of contract in the summer and that he would not be signing a new contract with the club. On 21 February, Kuszczak moved on an emergency loan to join Championship side Watford until the end of the season. He stated afterwards that he had joined Watford because he 
caption: Kuszczak training at Manchester United
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