Kacper Łopata

Kacper Mieczysław Łopata (Polish pronunciation: [ˈkat͡spɛr mʲɛˈt͡ʂɨswaf wɔˈpata]; born 27 August 2001) is a Polish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for I liga club Lechia Gdańsk. Łopata moved from Poland to England at the age of nine and spent his junior years with a variety of football clubs before he made his senior debut in non-League football at Whitehawk, on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion in the 2019–20 season. He was later loaned out to Polish I liga side Zagłębie Sosnowiec, though he was released from Brighton and ended up signing for Sheffield United. He joined Southend United on loan in October 2021 and joined the club permanently in September 2022. He left Southend amidst a wage dispute in March 2023 and ended the 2022–23 season with Woking. He signed with Barnsley in June 2023 and was loaned to Port Vale for the second half of the 2023–24 campaign. He was loaned to Scottish club Ross County for the 2024–25 season, and to Bristol Rovers and Walsall for the 2025–26 campaign. He returned to Poland to join Lechia Gdańsk in August 2026.