Despite the trouble Roma has had developing full-backs and wide players over the years, they have been remarkably adept at identifying, recruiting, and developing central defenders. After the mid-2000s duo of Juan and Philippe Mexés left the capital, the Giallorossi featured a steady stream of highly capable centerbacks, including Leandro Castan, Marquinhos, Medhi Benatia, Kostas Manolas, Federico Fazio, Chris Smalling, Gianluca Mancini, Evan Ndicka, and Mario Hermoso.
Given their ability to spot
top talent at the center-back position, whenever Roma lands a new center-back, our ears perk up. Whether they’re turning these players for quick profits like Marquinhos or Benatia, resurrecting their careers like Fazio or Smalling, or lifting them up another rung on the European ladder like Ndicka, Roma rarely misses with central defenders.
So when Roma snapped up a 6’4” Polish prodigy from Legia Warsaw last summer, we could hardly contain our excitement. Although his first season with the club amounted to little more than 700 minutes across all competitions, Jan Ziółkowski has what it takes to become Roma’s next great defender.
Number Six: Jan Ziółkowski
Age: 21
Position: CB
Shades of: Dean Huijsen, Giorgio Scalvini, Berat Djimsiti
Who Is He?
Born in June 2005, Ziółkowski began his football career with the youth sides of Wicher Kobyłka and Polonia Warsaw before signing with Legia in 2022. Two years later, Ziółkowski made his professional debut against Radomiak Radom and went on to make 24 appearances during the 2024-2025 season, scoring his first goal in February 2025.
While Ziółkowski’s youth resume isn’t bursting with stats, awards, or recognition, Roma saw enough in him last summer to take a €6 million flyer on him last summer, betting that his physical traits could be shaped into a top-notch defender.
What Can He Do?
Given that we’re talking about a 21-year-old kid with fewer than 3,000 career minutes, we have to take some of this on faith, but Ziółkowski possesses an intriguing mix of size and skill. Let’s start with the obvious: the kid is very tall. At 6’4”, he’ll always be among the league’s tallest players, but he’s much more than a simple shadow-caster.
In the brief glimpses we’ve seen so far, Ziółkowski plays with more pace, aggression, and touch than defenders his size typically show. Again, given how little he played last season, we have to take these numbers with a grain of salt. On a per-90-minute basis, Ziółkowski averaged a healthy 8.67 defensive contributions, an impressive 5.33 recoveries, and even 3.33 accurate long passes.
That aggression, when paired with his surprising mobility and long limbs, enables Ziółkowski to track defenders, engage in duels, win tackles, and recover the ball at a high enough rate to thrive within Gasperini’s defensive system.
What Can He Become?
Ziółkowski has all the requisite skills to become a ball-playing, aerially dominant center-back capable of covering large swaths of the pitch and even contributing to the progressive passing game. Traits and talent aren’t the issue; Ziółkowski’s ceiling will depend on improving his decision-making, harnessing that aggression, and fine-tuning his ability on the ball.
If he hits on all those developmental marks, Roma would have a unicorn on its hands. An athletic, aggressive, and mobile 6’4” defender who can track defenders outside of the box, command the air, break lines with his passing, and stand as an almost indefensible weapon on set pieces.
The biggest impediment to that scenario becoming a reality is the lack of opportunity. Ziółkowski’s ideal position is in the middle of a three-man backline, meaning his development is currently blocked by Ndicka. But if Roma feels the financial pinch in the future and is forced to sell Ndicka, a three-man backline of Koulierakis, Ziółkowski and Daniele Ghilardi is incredibly intriguing. They offer a healthy blend of competing and complementary skills, and Gasperini could mix and match them based on the opposition’s tactics.
No matter the scenario, Ziółkowski is a talent worth developing and could become the linchpin of Roma’s defense for years to come.
