Hull City, Stoke City, Plymouth Argyle and Derby County named in transfer race | OneFootball

Left-back Tymoteusz Puchacz is on the radar of the Championship quartet

Championship quartet Hull City, Plymouth Argyle, Stoke City and Derby County are all in the race to secure a loan deal for Polish international left-back Tymoteusz Puchacz, according to new reports from Polish media.

The four clubs mentioned are all currently occupying the bottom half of the second tier, so it is little surprise to see each side linked with defensive reinforcements now that the January transfer window is in full swing.

25-year-old Puchacz currently plays for Bundesliga club Holstein Kiel, after a summer move from Union Berlin, but he has struggled for consistent game-time upon arrival at the Holstein Stadion, with just five league starts so far this term, despite the club currently sitting in the relegation places.

Four Championship clubs linked with move for Tymoteusz Puchacz

According to Polish outlet Meczyki, left-back Puchacz is close to changing clubs and is set to move to the Championship in the next few days.

Meczyki also claim that, while he is on his way to the second tier, the details of the exact club are unclear, but it looks set to be a six-month loan to one of Hull City,Derby County, Plymouth Argyle or Stoke City.

Puchacz only signed a two-year deal in Kiel back in August, but his lack of minutes this season has clearly alerted Championship sides to his potential availability this month, with a move now seemingly imminent.

Puchacz has experience in numerous top leagues and at international level

Despite being just 25 years of age, Puchacz is already a very well-travelled player, which could well speak to his quality of being able to play in numerous leagues with different teams, but also could be a sign of him finding it tough to settle in one place, as has happened at Holstein this season.

He started his career off in his native Poland, as he broke through at Lech Poznan and became a regular in their first team from 2019 to 2021 before he earned a move to German outfit Union Berlin in 2021 for a reported fee of around €3.5 million.

The defender played just 10 times for Union in his three years at the club, and instead spent time out on loan in Turkey, with Trabzonspor, where he won the Super Lig, and in the Greek Super League at Panathinaikos, before returning to Germany last season for a third and final loan spell with second-tier side Kaiserslautern.

His permanent move to Holstein looked to have brought about some much-needed stability to his career, yet he has struggled for gametime but has still added to his international cap tally in recent months, and has now made 15 appearances for Poland after being included in their Euro 2024 squad last summer.

Whichever English club lands him soon looks to be getting a quick, strong defender who can play at both left-back and left-wing-back, and also one that likes to chip in going forward, after he notched one goal and 10 assists in 31 appearances for Kaiserslautern in the 2.Bundesliga last season.