Karol Borys

Last updated

Karol Borys
Personal information
Full name Karol Krzysztof Borys [1]
Date of birth (2006-09-28) 28 September 2006 (age 18)
Place of birth Otmuchów, Poland [2]
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in) [2]
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
Maribor
(on loan from Westerlo)
Number 21
Youth career
2012–2013 Czarni Otmuchów  [ pl ]
2013–2022 Śląsk Wrocław
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2022–2023 Śląsk Wrocław II 13 (0)
2022–2024 Śląsk Wrocław 10 (0)
2024– Westerlo 4 (0)
2024–Maribor (loan) 16 (1)
International career
2021–2022 Poland U16 8 (5)
2022–2023 Poland U17 19 (3)
2023 Poland U18 5 (0)
2024 Poland U19 8 (1)
2024– Poland U21 1 (1)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23 August 2025
‡ National team caps and goals as of 19 November 2024

Karol Krzysztof Borys (born 28 September 2006) is a Polish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Slovenian PrvaLiga club Maribor, on loan from Belgian Pro League club Westerlo. [2]

Contents

Club career

Born in Otmuchów, Borys started his career with hometown club Czarni Otmuchów, before joining the Śląsk Wrocław academy in 2013. [3] He signed his first professional contract there in October 2021, [3] having previously attended a trial at Manchester United. [4] [5] [6]

On 21 May 2022, Borys made his professional debut for Śląsk's first team, coming on as a substitute in the last 20 minutes of a 4–3 home loss to Górnik Zabrze during the last matchday of the 2021–22 season. [4] [6] [7] By doing so, he became the first player born in 2006 to appear in Ekstraklasa and displaced Mirosław Pękala as the youngest player in the history of the Silesian club. [4]

On 11 October 2023, Borys was named by English newspaper The Guardian as one of the best players born in 2006 worldwide. [8] In December of the same year, he reportedly attracted interest from several European clubs, including Fiorentina and PSV Eindhoven. [9] [10]

On 1 February 2024, Belgian club Westerlo announced the signing of Borys on a two-and-a-half-year contract. [11] He made his debut for De Kemphanen on 31 March that year, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 2–0 Europe play-off away loss against Sint-Truiden. [12] After the 2023–24 season, in which Borys made four appearances for Westerlo, he joined Slovenian PrvaLiga club Maribor on a season-long loan with the option to make the transfer permanent. [13] He played 20 games for the club in all competitions in the first half of the season, before his season was cut short due to a serious injury. [14] [15] His loan at Maribor was then extended for another year in July 2025. [15]

Career statistics

As of match played 24 November 2024 [2]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueNational cup [a] ContinentalTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Śląsk Wrocław II 2021–22 [16] II liga 3030
2022–23 [17] II liga700070
2023–24 [18] III liga, gr. III 300030
Total13000130
Śląsk Wrocław 2021–22 [16] Ekstraklasa 1010
2022–23 [17] Ekstraklasa601070
2023–24 [18] Ekstraklasa300030
Total10010110
Westerlo 2023–24 Belgian Pro League 4040
Maribor (loan) 2024–25 Slovenian PrvaLiga 140204 [b] 0200
Career total4103040480

References

  1. "FIFA U-17 World Cup Indonesia 2023™" (PDF). fdp.fifa.org. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Karol Borys at Soccerway. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  3. 1 2 "15-letni Karol Borys ze Śląska Wrocław przejdzie testy w... Manchesterze United!". Polsat Sport (in Polish). 19 January 2022. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 "Debiut perełki. Najmłodszy zawodnik w historii klubu!". Telewizja Polska (in Polish). 21 May 2022. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  5. Kowalczyk, Hubert (16 February 2022). "15-latek z Polski na testach w Manchesterze United. Już spotkał się z nim Czesław Michniewicz". Meczyki.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  6. 1 2 "Pierwszy trener: Karol Borys". Weszło (in Polish). 30 August 2022. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  7. Bryś, Bartosz (16 September 2022). "15-letni Karol Borys z udanym debiutem w wyjściowej jedenastce Śląska Wrocław!". Mistrzowie Polski (in Polish). Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  8. Christenson, Marcus; Bloor, Steven; Blight, Garry (11 October 2023). "Next Generation 2023: 60 of the best young talents in world football". The Guardian . Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  9. Partum, Antoni (28 December 2023). "Wielki polski talent dostał ofertę z Serie A. "Nie szanujemy się, jeśli odejdzie za taką kwotę"". Sport.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  10. Targetti, Federico (26 December 2023). "Fiorentina su Borys: 'Visiteremo il Viola Park'. Quel giorno allo United, ora c'è da battere il PSV". Calciomercato.com (in Italian). Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  11. "Welcome Karol". Westerlo. 1 February 2024. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
  12. "Debiut Karola Borysa w KVC Westerlo". 90minut.pl (in Polish). 31 March 2024. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  13. "V LV se seli poljski čudežni deček". Slovenski nogometni portal (in Slovenian). 29 June 2024. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  14. "Maribor potrdil slabo novico: Mladi Karol Borys je utrpel hudo poškodbo, namesto na priprave v Turčijo mora pod nož". Planet Nogomet (in Slovenian). 10 January 2025. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
  15. 1 2 "Karol Borys ostaja v Ljudskem vrtu: Maribor potrkal na vrata Belgijcev in mladega talenta še za leto dni zadržal na Štajerskem". Planet Nogomet (in Slovenian). 10 July 2025. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
  16. 1 2 "Sezon 2021/22". 90minut. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  17. 1 2 "Sezon 2022/23". 90minut. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  18. 1 2 "Sezon 2023/24". 90minut. Retrieved 7 September 2024.