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Celtic thought they had a shot at landing one of Polish football’s most promising young defenders. Werder Bremen apparently had other ideas.
Oskar Wójcik, the 22-year-old centre-back currently plying his trade for KS Cracovia in the Polish top flight, has become one of the more quietly compelling transfer stories of the summer window. Celtic submitted a bid of approximately £3.5 million for the defender back in January 2026. Cracovia knocked it back, reportedly holding out for something closer to £4.2 million.
Now Werder Bremen has stepped into the frame, and by most accounts, the German club is currently leading the chase.
What we know about the transfer
Wójcik is 1.91 meters tall, a Polish international, and under contract with Cracovia until June 2029. That contract length matters. It gives the Polish club genuine leverage, and they have used it.
Cracovia’s asking price of around £4.2 million is not outrageous for a player of Wójcik’s profile, but it does represent a meaningful gap from where Celtic entered negotiations. The Scottish champions were willing to go to £3.5 million. The Polish club said no.
Werder Bremen, meanwhile, is now in active talks. Transfer fees in the anticipated range sit between €3 million and €5 million, which means there is a window where both clubs could theoretically find common ground.
As of late June 2026, no deal has been officially confirmed.
There is also a factor that has nothing to do with the fee. Wójcik himself has been clear: he will only consider leaving Cracovia if the destination guarantees him regular first-team football.
Why Celtic wanted him and what Bremen offers instead
Celtic’s interest in Wójcik is consistent with their transfer strategy over recent years: identify young, physically imposing defenders from European leagues where the market has not yet fully inflated, move early, and develop. A 22-year-old Polish international under a long contract ticks most of those boxes.
Werder Bremen competes in the Bundesliga, one of the top five European leagues by most measures, and that competitive context is relevant given Wójcik’s stated priority around playing time. A move to Scotland, even to a club as dominant domestically as Celtic, offers Champions League football and a reasonably certain route to starting minutes. A move to Bremen offers Bundesliga football, which carries its own prestige and visibility, particularly for a player pushing for a regular spot in the Polish national team setup.
Celtic’s January rejection was not a soft no, either. Cracovia held firm at the £4.2 million mark even when Celtic were on the table with a concrete bid.
What this means for the transfer market
Wójcik’s situation is a decent illustration of where the market for young Eastern European defenders currently sits. Cracovia holding out for over £4 million for a player with three years still on his contract is not stubborn. It is rational.
Wójcik, for his part, holds more cards than the transfer fee figures suggest. A player who is willing to walk away from a move that does not guarantee him starts is a player who knows his worth.
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