Dawid Kownacki
Dawid Igor Kownacki (; born 14 March 1997) is a Polish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Ekstraklasa side Lech Poznań, on loan from club Fortuna Düsseldorf, and the Polish national team. Besides Poland, he has played in Italy and Germany. Early career. Having started out at local side GKP Gorzów Wielkopolski, Kownacki joined Lech Poznań in 2005, coming through the youth ranks and making it to the first team in December 2013. He scored his first Ekstraklasa goal in February 2014 in a 5–1 loss at Pogoń Szczecin, becoming one of only five players aged under  17 to have registered in Poland's top flight. He won his first league title the following season – "At 16, people were calling me 'the new Lewandowski', and that was tough to handle, but I changed my attitude, grew up and am now much better at not taking to heart what people say. Of course, I still have big dreams". Club career. Sampdoria. On 11 July 2017, Kownacki signed a five-year contract with Italian side Sampdoria. In November, he scored a brace and assisted another goal in Sampdoria's 4–1 Coppa Italia win against Delfino Pescara in the fourth  round. Fortuna Düsseldorf. On 31 January 2019, Kownacki joined to German Bundesliga club Fortuna Düsseldorf on loan with an option to buy. On 30 June 2019, he rejoined Fortuna on another loan with an obligation to buy, which was fulfilled in January 2020. Loan to Lech. On 2 February 2022, Kownacki returned to his maiden club Lech Poznań on a straight loan until the end of the season. International career. Kownacki represented Poland at under-16, under-17, under-19 and under-21 level, winning 46 caps and scoring 31 goals. He received his first call-up to the senior Poland squad for matches  against Georgia and Greece in June 2015. In May 2018, he was named in Poland's preliminary 35-man squad and subsequently final 23-man for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Honours. Lech Poznań