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Scouting Report: Dominik Marczuk

March 8, 2024
Player Analysis

At just 20 years old, Dominik Marczuk is helping Jagiellonia Bialystok push for their first ever Ekstraklasa title… but what makes the Polish star so exciting?

 

Dominik Marczuk signed for Polish club Jagiellonia Bialystok on a free transfer this summer following the expiry of his contract at Fortuna 1 Liga club Stal Rzeszow. During Marczuk’s three seasons in Rzeszów, he put up nine goal contributions in 63 games whilst primarily playing as a right-sided full-back as part of a back four.

 

Fast forward nine months and Marczuk has six goals and seven assists for Jagiellonia Bialystok in just 27 games whilst operating as a right-sided midfielder in both a 4-2-3-1 and a 4-4-2. Marczuk is on track to put up 11 assists in the league the season, a number only beaten by four players in the past decade.

 

 

With 10 league games to go, Jagiellonia Bialystok sit atop the Ekstraklasa, level on 45 points with Śląsk Wrocław, five above Pogoń Szczecin and Lech Poznán, who have a game in hand, and six above Raków Częstochowa, who have two games in hand. Whilst the competition is fierce, Jaga control their own destiny as they look to pursue their first top-divison title in the club’s 103-year history.

 

But what makes Dominik Marczuk such an exciting young prospect? Well, let’s take a look at his underlying numbers and find out!

 

Player Profile – Dominik Marczuk

 

Nationality: Polish

Age: 20

Date of birth: 01/11/2003

Club: Jagiellonia Bialystok

Position: Right Back/ Right Midfielder

Preferred foot: Right

 

Main Position

 

Under coach Adrian Siemieniec, Jagiellonia Bialystok have lined up primarily in a 4-2-3-1 this season with Marczuk operating off the right wing. A more defensively solid 4-4-2, with two holding midfielders, and a 4-3-3, with an advanced midfielder, have been utilised on occasion however the 4-2-3-1 remains Siemieniec’s preferred formation.

 

In this 4-2-3-1 setup, Marczuk has produced 11 goal contributions in just 14 games (*includes penalty assists) however just one of those goal contributions has come in the last 7 games in which the 4-2-3-1 was used. Marczuk produced 11 goal contributions in his first 14 league games, including a hat trick of assists against Radomiak in September, but has managed just one goal contribution in the 8 games following.

 

In particular, Marczuk has struggled when set up in Siemieniec’s alternate 4-4-2 or 4-3-3 producing zero goal contributions in five games, three of which have coincided with the 20-year-old’s eight-game drop-off.

 

(The 4-2-3-1 utilised by Jagiellonia during the 23/24 Ekstraklasa season.)

 

Underlying Numbers

 

At his core, Marczuk is stylistically an attacking winger, more akin to a late 2000s wide attacker than a modern possession conservative winger, the Polish youth international has based his game this season on bombing down wide areas into space, taking on a defender in a one-on-one before utilising his two-footed nature to deliver a floated cross into the box either on his preferred right foot or cutting in and whipping one in off his left.

 

So far this season Marczuk is producing 4.61 crosses per 90 with only Ruch Chorzów’s Miłosz Kozak (4.62/90) producing more. The 20-year-old’s 32.91% cross accuracy however is the third lowest out of the eight players with over 3.5 crosses per 90 with only Korona Kielce’s Jacek Podgórski (30.19%) and Lech Poznań’s Dino Hotić (25%) finding the target less.

 

Looking at Marczuk’s crossing this season,it is clear to see why his cross accuracy is quite so low. The former Górnik Łęczna youth player prefers to deliver crosses into an area rather than towards a specific target often leading to well-executed crosses into dangerous areas that are just missed by Jagiellonia’s forwards.

 

Additionally, Afimico Pululu, the club’s primary central forward, stands at just 175cm (5ft 9in) whilst Jesús Imaz who has deputised up front on several occasions this season stands at just 174cm (5ft 8in). Finally, just 33.7% of Marczuk’s completed crosses are from deep positions (within meters of the opposition goal) meaning that around three crosses per 90 are from lower expected completion areas.

 

(Dominik Marczuk’s Attempted Crosses 2023/24 Ekstarklasa Season)

 

As his goal contribution breakdown highlights, with four goals and seven assists, Marczuk is primarily a creative winger more than an inside forward. He produces 1.46 shots per 90 (ranked 17th in the Ekstraklasa this season) with an xG per shot of 0.16.

 

Breaking down his shots further, we can see that (based on data gathered throughout the past calendar year) from 42 shots Marczuk has found the target just 15 times, representing a 35.7% accuracy rate, with the majority (74%) coming from inside the box.

 

This shot location is unsurprising as the winger finds himself in the top third for touches in the opposition box this season with 3.74 touches per 90. Additionally, Marczuk’s two-footedness can be highlighted in his shot distribution with 19 shots coming from his left foot and 21 coming from his right.

 

(Dominik Marczuk’s Shot Distribution 2023-2024)

 

As well as being a talented crosser, Marczuk possesses a strong ability to progress the ball both in dribbles and deep completions. In terms of dribbles, his 5.49 per 90 ranks 13th in the Ekstraklasa this season and his 54.26% dribble success rate ranks him 4th in the league for successful dribbles per 90 with 2.97/90 (Kristoffer Velde leads the division with 3.14/90 for players with over 10 appearances.)

 

The 20-year-old ranks first for deep completions (a non-cross pass that is targeted to the zone within 20 meters of the opponent’s goal) with 1.46/90 (for players with over 10 appearances.) This data helps us understand Marczuk’s role and play style at Jagiellonia this season, he is a progressive winger tasked with receiving the ball and driving forward (65.1m average progressive run) before putting the ball into a dangerous area either by a floated cross or well-timed pass into the box.

 

Defensively Marczuk is not much of a contributor although he is capable when called upon, thanks to his previous role as a right-sided full-back, his 4.67 defensive duels per 90 ranks 100th in the league and despite his solid 62.5% duel success rate his 2.98 ground duels won per 90 still ranks 11th in the Jagiellonia squad. Marczuk also struggles aerially with a 38.46% aerial duel success rate and just 0.31 aerial duels won per 90, the second lowest in the Jagiellonia squad (for players with over 10 appearances) behind Jesús Imaz (0.12).

 

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This is understandable as the Polish Youth League star stands at just 174cm (5ft 7in) but it is still worth noting this as a potential area of weakness for the 20-year-old especially if a manager was looking to return him to his previous role as a full back.

Dominik Marczuk – Final Assessment

 

Strengths:

 

  • Dribbling – Marczuk is an exciting watch on the ball, particularly in one-on-one scenarios outside the box. Stylistically he is very similar to Bukayo Saka, Marczuk loves standing his defender tall relying on his close control and ability to cut inside onto his left foot and deliver a well-placed ball into the box to beat defenders. What makes Marczuk potentially more effective in these scenarios than someone like Saka (proportionally to their levels) is that the Pole’s natural ability on both his left and right foot makes him difficult to defend as the opposition are forced to try to defend the cross off both feet and on multiple occasions this season the 20-year-old has sent defenders after cutting on his left only to quickly cut back in on his right and deliver a cross into the area.

 

  • Crossing – On paper Marczuk doesn’t profile as a particularly effective crosser with only four of his 89 crosses leading to an assist however watching the youngster it is clear to see he is a technically gifted crosser of the ball simply not played alongside a forward suited to this skill set. Additionally, data gathered by The Athletic back in 2021 showed that only 1.3% of open play crosses created a goal equating to roughly one assist every 76 crosses so if you take this metric Marczuk is actually performing 237% above average with an assist every 22.5 crosses.

 

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  • Naturally Two-footed – This is something that has been highlighted throughout this report, from Marczuk’s shot data to his crossing profile and ability to cut inside, the Międzyrzec Podlaski native is strong off both his left and right foot to the point that if you did not know that his right foot was his preferred foot you may struggle to notice across 90 minutes of football. His two-footedness can be highlighted in his assists breakdown, of his seven assists (excludes penalty assists) four have been right-footed and three have been left-footed illustrating his fantastic weak-foot ability.

Weaknesses:

 

  • Finishing – Although the winger’s play style reflects that more of a creative ball progressor than an attacking inside forward, Marczuk frequently finds himself in shooting positions (1.46 shots per 90) and his finishing has significant room for improvement. This season he is currently underperforming his xG by 1.07 and his previously highlighted 35.7% shot accuracy rate and 11.9% shot conversion rate is underwhelming when you consider his average shot location and xG per shot data.

 

  • Aerial Presence – This feels slightly harsh as it’s almost an uncorrectable issue but the reality of modern football is any and all weaknesses will be highlighted and targeted by opposition analysts. Due to his smaller posture and limited jumping reach Marczuk is a limited threat in the box as well as of limited use defensively from set pieces as highlighted by his 25% aerial duel success rate inside his own box (3/12).

 

 

  • This can tactically be adjusted for, he is a capable player when it comes to tracking back from offensive corners as well as being more than capable at taking them and defensively he can offer something on the counter-attack but it is just worth noting as this is something clubs will need to consider when looking at Marczuk in the context of their own squads…let’s just say he’s unlikely to be playing for Sean Dyche anytime soon.

Grade:

 

Before I advance with this final section, it is only fair that I credit Target Scouting for this scouting report grading system. Please check them out and support the awesome work they do at targetscouting.com. At the end of each player review, I will be giving a final grade on a scale of A1 to D – in order to give a consistent and clear final review of how I see Marczuk as a player now and where he could potentially end up. The scale is as follows:

 

  • A1 – Very good, could play higher
  • A2 – Strong potential to play higher
  • B1 – Good, strong player at this level
  • B2 – Potential to be a strong player at this level
  • C – Average for the level
  • D – Below average for the level

Dominik Marczuk Final Grade – A2

 

In Dominik Marczuk, I believe we have a future Polish international likely coming in to play the same role that Przemysław Frankowski plays for The Eagles as a right-sided winger/wing back in Polands 3-5-2 whilst also being able to play as the right midfielder in a 4-4-2 similarly to Michał Skóraś against the Faroe Islands back in September.

 

 

I believe Marczuk’s skill set will be a strong suit for clubs looking to get the ball into a focal point/penalty box striker, at the lower more immediate level a club like Cardiff who have produced 31% of their goals from headers this season and have frequently set up in a 4-2-3-1 could be a good fit.

 

Looking past the immediate future I feel comfortable in stating that Marczuk possesses the technical ability to play in Europe’s top five leagues should his development continue at its current rate. He is contracted with Jagiellonia until 2026, however, with a current market value of just £1.3m and outside interest likely to increase this summer, should the club go on to capture the Ekstraklasa this season, it is very possible that he moves on this summer.

 

By: Liam Stewart / @LiamAStewart

Featured Image: @GabFoligno / SOPA Images / LightRocket

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