It is truth that rings strong, that throughout history the small man has produced some rather excellent sporting kind. Poland is truly no different. Robert Lewandoswki has long been the face of Polish sport, 238 goals in 253 appearances for Bayern München made sure of that fact. Iga Świątek is the modern face of tennis, with 5 grand slam victories and over 100 weeks at world number one, at just the age of 23 .

But unlike Lewankdoswki and Świątek’s sporting likeness, Ewa Pajor has often fall through the cracks when recognition is dealt its turn. I’ve long been an admirer and fan of Pajor, and as she starts out on a new life in sunny Catalonia, here is my argument and analysis as to why Pajor deserves a seat at the table of the world’s best strikers.

It’s not hard to see why Barcelona wanted Pajor. The Spanish giants had been crying out for an out-and-out nine over the past two seasons. Centrally, Pajor is lethal. Silky footwork meets a range of finishes to make the starting stages of one of the best strikers in women’s footballing history. Critical in set pieces, she is always the target for a header or a shot.

As the Spanish giants scoured the globe for a new 9, Pajor was simply too good to pass up. In nine years at Wolfsburg, Pajor netted 136 goals in 196 games. Likewise in her 61 appearances for Poland, she has scored 38 goals. For most of the 2023/24 season, Pajor was playing out of position as a left-winger for the She Wolves. Still in that time, she scored 18 goals with 6 assists.

Her Expected Goals (xG) for the season was 14.9. Per 90 minutes, those stats break down to 1.13 goals, 0,38 assists, and a xG of 0.94. In an over-simplified way, despite Wolfsburg lacklustre season, Pajor over-performed on what the numbers expected of her.

The Polish captain’s eye for goal comes naturally. It’s a goal that everyone recognises from Pajor, the 1-0 Wolfsburg in the Champions League final against Barcelona. Pajor muscles the ball off Lucy Bronze off to the left. With the ball at her feet, she drives away from Bronze towards the top of the ‘D’ where she unleashes a deadly finish into the top corner. Whilst Sandra Paños does touch the ball, Pajor’s power is too much to keep it out.

It’s in Pajor’s central drive that means the shot is perfect. Over her many years of experience, Pajor would have grown comfortable in knowing her abilities centrally, and how to finish important goals. Leaving Bronze on the floor, Pajor finds herself completely unmarked, with Keira Walsh too attempting to close her down. Instead of making herself a stationery target for Walsh, Pajor’s central drive pulls her even further away from danger and right into her preferred shooting area. The need to make herself unmarked means Pajor has the freedom and space to essentially do what she wants. What she wanted to do was make a statement goal, and she did exactly that.

Pajor is also a good case of a striker staying as high up the pitch as possible. It’s something we have already seen in pre-season in her first shows in a Barcelona shirt. In the Joan Gamper game against AC Milan, Pajor remains just outside the box as Caroline Graham Hansen sets herself up for the pass into the box. Pajor’s incredible placement means she can pull towards the goal, and away from defenders in the short window before Graham Hansen’s pass reaches her.

By being in and around the box at all times, Pajor makes life easier for herself, and increases her chance of conversion. Pajor closes the distance between herself and the mouth front in as many as 10 steps. Directly in front of goal as the ball falls to her, it is a simply header that sees it into the net. It can’t go unmentioned that Pajor and Graham Hansen have the advantage of many a season, and goal together at Wolfsburg. Yet, it also goes without saying that this is vintage Pajor, and something she will deliver no matter who is playing alongside her.

Sticking with the stats 2023-24, Pajor’s shooting stats showed she is no stranger to an attempt or two. With 77 shots and 29 on target (37.7%), Pajor was more than productive in trying. Breaking that down per 90, Pajor averaged 5.64 shots and shots on target, 2.12. In comparison to other Wolfsburg forwards, Alexandra Popp had shots per 90 were 4.17, with 0.98 on target. Jule Brand, likewise, 2.98 shots and 0.95 on target. In fewer words, Pajor was the most productive forward in terms of shots for Wolfsburg last season. She was taking more chances and opportunities than anyone else, and makes them worth it.

The goal that summed up how I view Pajor to play for Barcelona came in her final outing for Wolfsburg. Playing a quick one two off Brand and Popp on the edge of the box, Pajor continues her run into the box to receive the ball back. Unmarked and 1v1 with the SGS Essen goalkeeper, Pajor closes in on the goal before slotting it home. The quick thinking movement between the players and the instinctive finish is the style of buildup Barcelona enjoy centrally. By closing in on the goalkeeper, Pajor has directly limited the opposition’s options at saving the shot. Consistently having the upper hand both physically and psychological is a key part of what gives Barcelona their edge and aura, and adding Pajor into the squad just extends that.

Ewa Pajor’s move to Barcelona was, in my opinion, the transfer of the season. Outrageous in front of goal with a range of ways to convert, Pajor is a proven outlet for goals. Add in Barcelona’s creative midfield as well as the reunion of Pajor and Graham Hansen, this could be one of the best partnerships in the history of the women’s game.