Striker Labelled 'the New Lewandowski' Brushes Off Barcelona Link Amid Recent Transfer Speculation

After spending two years with Cracovia in the Ekstraklasa, Polish striker Krzysztof Piatek transferred to Serie A side Genoa for a reported 4m euros. In his time at the Polish club, the player often labelled 'the new Robert Lewandowksi' netted 32 times in 65 games, harnessing attention from top European clubs. 

Piatek has started his Serie A venture in fine form, with eight goals in just four games. This puts him joint top goal scorer with Sampdoria's Gregoire Defrel. However, the Polish striker has been recording an impressive 68 minutes per goal, compared to Defrel's 113 minutes per goal. 

Despite only having played four games for his new Italian club, Piatek is already being linked with a move to one of Europe's elite teams: ​Barcelona. With Luis Suarez declining with age, rumours suggest that the Catalonian ​side will be looking for a new striker in the coming transfer windows. 

Responding to these flattering rumours, Piatek told Sky Sports Italia: "The start of the season has been good, but I'm not thinking about it [the transfer rumours], I look forward and I'm already focused on the next match against Lazio." 

In response to the Barcelona link specifically, the 23 year-old striker modestly said: "I don't think the links with Barcelona are true, even though I've heard about it." 

Piatek's build and his Polish origins have led to comparisons with Poland's all-time top goalscorer Robert Lewandowski. Both players started their careers in the Ekstraklasa, where they were prolific goal scorers before they earned their moves to the Serie A and Bundesliga respectively.

However, Piatek was quick to play down the comparisons with his international teammate: "I can't be compared to Lewandowski - he plays for Bayern Munich, myself at Genoa." 

Whilst Genoa's new striker is not convinced by the comparisons himself, if he continues to score goals at his current rate, it's likely that Piatek will follow an almost identical career path as Lewandowski. 

His prolific goalscoring in the Poland's top league was almost enough to secure him a place in Poland's World Cup squad, but he was removed from the final selection after making the preliminary squad. Since then, Piatek has made his senior debut for his country, playing in a 1-1 draw against the Republic of Ireland. 

There's a hope amongst Polish supporters that this might be one of many to come.