PRZEMYSLAW Placheta became Oxford United’s eighth summer signing when he arrived as a free agent on Monday.

The Poland international has spent the last four years in English football, playing for Norwich City, Birmingham City and Swansea City.

We spoke to Sam Seaman from the Norwich Evening News to get the lowdown on Placheta.

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What kind of player is Placheta? What are his main qualities and strengths?

He’s a bit of a throwback of a winger, he’s at his best when he’s driving at pace down the left flank and whipping balls into the box with his left foot.

Technically he’s pretty good, and athletically he’s even better, but his football brain is why he’s struggled to really make a home for himself in the Championship.

Most of the time he was at his best at Norwich was when coaches would tell him very explicitly what to do and almost choreograph his every movement.

Given a good amount of autonomy, he struggles to make the right decision, which is why he hasn’t hit the heights his physical attributes suggest he could.

He’s known as a winger, but can also play full back? How good is he in the latter role?

He definitely fits the mould of an attacking modern-day full back, and that’s probably an easier tactical role for him to fulfil than in an advanced role.

David Wagner saw him as a full back and moulded him in that way, but he did like to play with them very high up the pitch.

He has the physicality and work rate to get back and defend, so it’s definitely a role that suits him.

He probably needs a bit more experience there to be consistently reliable, but there’s potential for him as a left back.

What impact did he have during his time with Norwich?

Early on he had a fairly decent impact, and looked like he could play at least a squad role as Norwich won the Championship in 2021.

But over time it became clear that he wouldn’t improve as much as hoped, and those impressive raw materials were almost all that were there.

His game time dwindled over time and injuries didn’t help. Overall, he’s seen as a bit of a flop by Norwich fans, although maybe not a major one.

He scored two goals in total over three and a half years at the club, which tells the story really.

How well did he perform when the Canaries were in the Championship?

Oddly he seemed to suit the Premier League a bit better than the Championship. In the top flight, where a lot of it is about slow and considered build-up play, he almost worked as a bit of a chaos factor for Norwich, who weren’t as good as any of the sides they came up against.

But for a newly promoted side like Oxford, he is fairly reliable and will probably help out. If he’s going to be relied upon to produce creative moments and make something out of attacks then that may be a worry, but he’ll always do his fair share of the running, battling and hard work that’s needed at this level.