Patryk Klimala admits he’s not a fan of Match of the Day – but when he does tune in to the English Premier League there’s someone who looks familiar.
Celtic’s new striker reckons he’s a ringer on the pitch for Leicester City superstar Jamie Vardy.
It’s not a new comparison either, with plenty of folk in his homeland telling him his game is similar to the ex-England ace.
Like Vardy, Klimala is all about his pace, playing on the shoulder and showing defenders a clean pair of heels before sticking the ball in the back of the net.
Just like the Foxes star, Kilmala likes to be centre of attention rather than stuck out wide – but the Pole insists he can shine as a lone frontman or part of a pair.
The Under-21 international said: “You can compare me to Vardy maybe 90 per cent. I know about the player but I am not a big fan of English football.
“I don’t really watch it often. But from what I know you could maybe compare me 90 per cent.
“I don’t prefer to play on the wing. I prefer to be in the middle as a striker. It doesn’t matter if I play on my own or as part of a pair, I just want to play centrally. I could play with Odsonne Edouard. I would be quite happy with that.
“I haven’t seen a lot of Edouard but I saw his last game, he played well and scored a goal.
“He is a really good player.”
Klimala understands he may need to bide his time before joining Edouard on the front line but he’s itching to get down to work.
The £3.5million signing from Jagiellonia Bialystok is determined to play his part in the Premiership title push – and can’t wait to sample the famous European nights
at Parkhead.
The Hoops are set to face Copenhagen in the Europa League last 32 next month but Klimala admitted he could have been lining up against Neil Lennon’s side.
He said: “It’s true there was a bid from Copenhagen on the table.
“But as soon as Celtic came in with their offer I wasn’t considering any of the other clubs. I’m looking forward to playing against Copenhagen in Europe now.
“Every player’s dream is to be able to play in the European cups, not only the
Europa League but the Champions League too.
“I would give it the same importance as domestic football. I want to do well in both
for Celtic.
“There is a different atmosphere in the European games, it’s special, and I am
looking forward to experiencing that at Celtic Park.
“I want to give the supporters a lot of happiness and hopefully score a lot of goals for Celtic.”
Klimala reckons he has hit the big time at Celtic but admits his career hasn’t been straightforward.
He came through the youth academy with Legia Warsaw but was shown the door after off-the-field issues and had to rebuild at Jagiellonia.
There were a few twists there as well, with a loan spell at second division Wigry Suwalki, where he rattled in 13 goals in 27 appearances, before he hit his stride back in the Polish top flight.
Klimala’s form this term secured his big-money move to Scotland and he is
convinced he’s only just getting started.
The youngster’s sights are set on the Hoops first team but he hopes producing the goods at Parkhead can fire him all the way to the Poland senior squad.
Klimala said: “I had a lot of ups and downs in my career. When I was 14-15 I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do whereas a lot of young people know.
“Obviously I was removed from Legia Warsaw and that allowed me to move back to Jagiellonia Bialystok then I moved up in my career.
“That was the challenge, the lesson, and I learned from it.
“For the time being I am quite happy with my position in the Under-21s. I know it is a long road to get to the full team.
“Robert Lewandowski is in top form so I don’t see it happening for me very soon.
“I am focusing on the present.
“If I am going to continue playing as well as I am now hopefully that will open the door for me with the national team in
the future.”
