New Celtic signing, Maik Nawrocki, has told how Arsenal defender, Jakub Kiwior has inspired him to realise his burning international ambition.
The new Hoops defender has been at pains this week to highlight that making the move to Celtic should, hopefully, give him a platform to showcase his skills and earn him his elusive first Poland cap.
Nawrocki has said that getting experience in the Champions League will help bolster his case and has told how his former Poland u19 teammate, Jakub Kiwior’s £20m move to Arsenal [Sky Sports] has inspired him to take his career to the next level.
Nawrocki said [Daily Record], “We have good Polish centre-backs and that’s the level I need to get to. I haven’t played for the national team yet but Celtic can take me to the next step. I had never been involved with the Polish national team before (I made the provisional World Cup squad).
“I wasn’t too upset when I wasn’t selected but it made me more determined to get there. I was close. I didn’t make it but I want to take my next chance. If I play good football at Celtic, I’ll get the opportunity to play for Poland.
“The Champions League is a chance to prove myself. I played with Jakub for Poland’s Under-19 team and he’s now at Arsenal. Seeing him in the Premier League inspires me.”
Nawrocki is clearly a very determined footballer. He comes across as very driven and extremely ambitious when it comes to taking his career to the next level.
Getting his first international cap for Poland is obviously very high on Nawrocki’s agenda and this ambition can only be good news for Celtic as he will need to perform at the highest level to convince Poland boss, Fabio Santos to select him in his upcoming squad in September.
With plenty of games to play until that announcement is made, Nawrocki will have ample opportunity to prove that his worthy of that long-awaited first cap. But first, he must look at breaking into the Celtic first team.
Getting in ahead of Carl Starfelt and Cameron Carter-Vickers is a challenge in itself, and if Nawrocki can do that, I would wager a bet that his first international cap will not be too far away.
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