Legia Warsaw star agrees €6m exit ahead of Hibs as they sanction ace's Blackburn move and sign rapid attacker

Legia Warsaw have undergone some squad reshuffling ahead of their clash with Hibs - including a star’s move to Blackburn Rovers.

The Polish side lead 2-1 from the first leg of the Conference League play-off clash at Easter Road last week, and will be viewed favourites to progress to the league phase. David Gray and co won’t be keen on letting that happen though with designs on banking a lucrative spot in the next round of the competition themselves.

Ahead of the game, some major updates in terms of the playing squad have emerged from the Legia camp. Firstly, the departure of Ryoya Morishita to English Championship side Blackburn Rovers was confirmed, having played 18 minutes of the first leg in Leith.

Legia Warsaw squad updates ahead of Hibs

Morishita told Blackburn’s club media: “This is my best time to move to Blackburn Rovers and to experience English football, which is why I’ve come here. I’m a fighter, I think. I fight a lot, I scored a lot of goals and provided a lot of assists in Poland last season. I want to show a result of that to the Rovers fans and I want to help the club as much as I possibly can.

“That means I have to score and I have to assist, which is my introduction to everybody. It was a very special season for me in 2024-25. My previous coach at Legia changed my position from wing-back to winger or a number eight. In the end, I think I can now play everywhere! This is another way I can help Rovers. It’s a very big honour to have the coach [Valerien Ismael] mention to me that he really wants me and I’m very happy to join as I want to play for the coach as well.”

Attacking reinforcement has already been landed in Ermal Krasniqi. He joins on loan from Sparta Prague, with Legia’s Romanian head coach Edward Iordanescu knowing him well from his impact in his native land. Sporting director Michal Zewlakow said: “Ermal Krasniqi is a different winger than the ones we've had before.

Jan Ziolkowski to Roma latest

“He plays forward, relying on speed and individual attacks. He also plays vertically, with a drive towards goal. He's a player who struggled to find consistent playing time at Sparta Prague, but coach Iordanescu knows him well from his time in the Romanian league; his profile suited us, and that's why we decided to loan him. I hope he brings a new, different energy.”

The forward added: "Thank you for the warm welcome to the club. I feel great and excited to be here at the biggest club in Poland. I'll be looking to show my best to help the team and hopefully bring the title back to Legia. My main position is left winger, but I can also play on the right and as a striker.”

Meanwhile, a major exit is on the way in the form of defender Jan Ziolkowski, who has agreed a big move to AS Roma in Serie A. Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano said: “Jan Ziolkowski to AS Roma, here we go! Deal agreed with Legia Warsaw for €6m fee plus sell-on clause. Ziolkowski only wanted AS Roma despite bids from Germany and the agreement is now done.”