The 21-year-old returns to Poland on loan after a year in MLS.
One year after making his move to MLS with the New York Red Bulls, Wiktor Bogacz is returning to Poland. It was announced on Tuesday afternoon that the 21-year-old had joined KS Cracovia on loan with an option to buy. He had previously featured for Miedź Legnica in the I liga, Poland’s second tier.
Bogacz arrived in January 2025 with high expectations. He signed a four-year contract after a promising start to his career as he scored eight goals and recorded two assists in 25 I liga games.
“He is a promising young striker with a lot of potential that has shown well with Miedz Legnica, and his qualities will help our club achieve our goals for the future,” said Head of Sport Jochen Schneider in a club statement at the time.
With new signing Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting in good form — the former Bayern star would end the season with 18 goals — Bogacz failed to break into the starting eleven. Injuries and international breaks further limited the Poland youth international’s chance to make an impact in New York.
In May 2025, Bogacz started his first MLS game, against Dean Smith’s Charlotte FC. Bogacz scored the opener in a 4-2 win. That was his lone start and goal of the MLS season, and one of only three shots on target he mustered all season. He made a further five appearances in the US Open Cup and Leagues Cup, but failed to score in any.
He also made two appearances in MLS Next Pro with New York’s reserves. Bogacz scored in each and recorded an assist. However, he was unable to take this goalscoring form with him to the first team. The Red Bulls missed the playoffs, and manager Sandro Schwarz did not survive the full season.
In February, a chance to return to Poland materialized. The Ekstraklasa transfer window is still open — like MLS. KS Cracovia, who, as of writing, are just four points off the top of the table, needed a striker following the sale of Filip Stojilković. After a scathing hot start to the season, Stojilković’s form tailed off, although he still earned a move to Serie A side Pisa SC in January.
After Stojilković left, Cracovia have only two natural strikers: Gabriel Charpentier and Kahveh Zahiroleslam. Neither has started an Ekstraklasa match this season, while Congo international Charpentier has not even played a match. It’s clear, then, that reinforcements were needed.
At the moment, there’s little to suggest Bogacz can bang in the goals. He failed to displace 36-year-old Choupo-Moting, who had not played in over half a year when he joined. And, in his entire career, Bogacz has only one top-flight goal to his name.
Still, the 21-year-old clearly has potential, and Cracovia have found talent in unexpected places before. The buy option in the deal indicates that there’s faith in his long-term potential — the same thing that New York saw when they chose to bring Bogacz to the United States.
First, he has to prove he’s worth it. With only 14 games left in the Ekstraklasa season, he’ll need to hit the ground running.
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Image via newyorkredbulls.com.
