Poland Might Have Their Lewandowski Replacement… And It Isn't Who You'd Think

For a national team, having a golden generation, or even just having one top player, is both a blessing and a curse.

In the moment, it's amazing. It can be the difference between representing your country on the biggest stages at international tournaments, and sitting at home in front of your TV rueing what could have been.

But unfortunately, football moves quickly, and often having big talent, especially on a stage where you can't just buy a shiny new asset, makes it infinitely more difficult to prepare for life after them.

That just about sums up the situation the Polish national team find themselves in. Robert Lewandowski has been the talisman for his national side for well over a decade, writing himself into legend with a massive 88 goals and carrying them through countless tournament cycles.

But, at the wise old age of 37, Lewangoalski's time in the spotlight is coming to a close, and with Krzysztof Piatek their only other option (due to Milik apparently just disappearing off the face of the earth), the need for some new blood is rife.

But maybe the search for a new goalscorer won't be as difficult as many think…

There are reports that it could be about to come in the form of a seriously unexpected name… That man is Ellis Simms.

First Question… How?

Yes, it may seem odd, but Ellis Simms does in fact legitimately qualify to be recruited for the Polish national team.

In the same way as Matty Cash, Simms was born in England but has a mother with Polish descent, which should make gaining Polish citizenship seamless.

Simms is also available for Jamaica and England through his heritage but is yet to be called upon by the Reggae Boyz, and an England call-up appears relatively unlikely at this moment.

There has, to this point, not been any open admission by Simms or any of his camp that representing the red and whites is a possibility – but his recent good form has understandably brought some big media attention, and the idea has been floated with increasing frequency over the last couple of weeks.

What Would Simms Bring Poland?

The most important thing to note is that Simms is currently just 24 years old, with a long career ahead of him – a far cry from the current cohort of 30+-year-olds Poland's national team currently boasts.

Simms, albeit nowhere near the output of the great Lewandowski, who currently occupies Poland's starting spot, has proven to be a potent attacking force over the last few seasons when he hits a rich vein of form.

And perhaps that has never been more obvious than at the current moment, as the Coventry City striker is on an exceptional run which has seen him score five goals in his past three Championship matches.

Simms is a finisher. One of those big bustling centre forwards who loved to put himself about in the box – in a somewhat similar way to Robert Lewandowski, come to think of it.

But Simms isn't just a fox in the box. He has creative abilities which make him excellent when playing with clinical wingers and late-arriving attacking midfielders and provides an outlet which can often feed off scraps when not given much service.

With the physicality of the international level well documented, having someone willing to put themselves about in the nature of Ellis Simms can often be one of the best weapons.

My favourite example of such a player is Breel Embolo for Switzerland. A player who hasn't always been the most fruitful at club level; put him in an international tournament for his country, and a deadly, physical presence who ragdolls defenders and scores goals comes to the fore.

Put Ellis Simms in the same position, and you could well be looking at a similar prospect.

Whether we are actually ever going to see this come to fruition is yet to be seen. In fact, the likelihood appears to be that we won't.

But there is no question that Simms would offer a lot to a Poland side which will soon be searching for a new goal scorer to lead its line.

Poland officials, if for whatever reason you're reading this… Just have a look at Ellis Simms, will you?