Aleksander Śliwka is about to change his club affiliation again – and this time the direction is his homeland, Polish media report. The Polish outside hitter, who relatively recently, in the first half of December, debuted with the Turkish Halkbank Ankara team, is the subject of increasingly persistent speculations about a transfer to the PlusLiga from next season.
The 30-year-old volleyball player experienced an extremely turbulent period in the last year. As early as last spring, Śliwka announced that he was ending his stay with the Japanese Suntory Sunbirds and would continue his career in another foreign club. However, shortly before the transfer became official, the outside hitter suffered a serious ankle injury during the national team's training camp before participating in the Nations League. The injury sidelined him for a long period and temporarily "paused" his career.
Ultimately, it was only at the end of November that it was confirmed Śliwka was joining the Turkish giant Halkbank Ankara – a club that this season is rightfully called "Bulgarian" due to the strong Bulgarian presence in its squad and staff (Matey Kaziyski, Tsvetan Sokolov, and Radostin Stoychev). The Pole's debut with the new team came on December 9 in a Champions League match against Bogdanka LUK Lublin.
Now, however, new, even more interesting information is emerging. According to unofficial data, Śliwka will remain at Halkbank for only a few more months, after which he will return to Poland. Journalist Edyta Kowalczyk from "Onet Przegląd Sportowy" reports that the outside hitter is very close to a transfer to PGE Projekt Warszawa – one of the leading teams in the PlusLiga.
If the deal is finalized, it will be a true transfer hit for the Polish championship. Behind Śliwka's decision to return to his homeland are not only sports-related, but also family reasons – the volleyball player recently became a father, and stability off the court often proves to be a decisive factor in such cases.
In Poland, Aleksander Śliwka has an impressive resume. Until 2024, he defended the colors of ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle, and before that, he wore the jerseys of Asseco Resovia Rzeszów and Indykpol AZS Olsztyn. An interesting detail is that Śliwka first encountered Projekt back in the 2014/2015 season when he was loaned to this very club, then known as AZS of Warsaw University of Technology.
PGE Projekt Warszawa is currently the leader in the PlusLiga with 34 points, having a two-point advantage over second-placed Bogdanka. The capital team's next match is on January 18 at 14:45 against Resovia – a match that further fuels interest in the club's future and the potential arrival of one of Polish volleyball's biggest stars.
photo:halkbankspor.org.tr
