Michał Helik

Michał Helik
	Helik in 2018 playing for Cracovia
Personal information
Full name	Michał Sławomir Helik
Date of birth	9 September 1995 (age 29)
Place of birth	Chorzów, Poland
Height	1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s)	Centre-back
Team information
Current team	Oxford United
Number	47
Youth career
0000–2013	Ruch Chorzów
Senior career*
Years	Team
2013–2017	Ruch Chorzów
2017–2020	Cracovia
2020–2022	Barnsley
2022–2025	Huddersfield Town
2025–	Oxford United
International career
2021	Poland
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20:45, 1 February 2025 (UTC)

Michał Sławomir Helik (born 9 September 1995) is a Polish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for EFL Championship club Oxford United.

Club career

Born in Chorzów, Helik started his career at Ruch Chorzów where he made 46 Ekstraklasa appearances and scored one goal.^[2] On 9 June 2017, it was announced that Helik would join fellow Ekstraklasa side Cracovia on a contract valid from 1 July.^[3] Over three seasons at Cracovia, he appeared in 88 league matches and scored nine goals.^[2]

On 9 September 2020, Helik joined Championship club Barnsley on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee.^[4]^[5] He scored his first goal for Barnsley in a 2–2 draw with Bristol City on 17 October 2020.^[6]

On 1 September 2022, Helik signed for Championship side Huddersfield Town for an undisclosed fee on a three-year deal, with an optional fourth year.^[7]

After Huddersfield's relegation at the end of the 2023–24 season, Helik remained with the club for another half-a-year, before returning to the second tier on 17 January 2025 to join Oxford United.^[8]

International career

Helik was selected by coach Paulo Sousa for the Poland squad for UEFA Euro 2020, but didn't play in the tournament.^[9]^[10] He later made his debut in a 3–3 draw against Hungary in a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification match on 25 March 2021.^[11]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 1 February 2025^[2]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League			National cup^[a]		League cup^[b]		Europe		Other		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Ruch Chorzów	2013–14	Ekstraklasa	8	0	0	0	—		—		—		8	0
	2014–15	Ekstraklasa	18	1	0	0	—		4^[c]	0	—		22	1
	2015–16	Ekstraklasa	0	0	0	0	—		—		—		0	0
	2016–17	Ekstraklasa	20	0	0	0	—		—		—		20	0
	Total		46	1	0	0	—		4	0	—		50	1
Cracovia	2017–18	Ekstraklasa	32	8	2	0	—		—		—		34	8
	2018–19	Ekstraklasa	32	0	2	1	—		—		—		34	1
	2019–20	Ekstraklasa	23	1	5	1	—		2^[c]	0	—		30	2
	2020–21	Ekstraklasa	1	0	1	0	—		1^[c]	0	0	0	3	0
	Total		88	9	10	2	—		3	0	—		101	11
Barnsley	2020–21	Championship	43	5	3	1	1	0	—		2^[d]	0	49	6
	2021–22	Championship	38	1	1	0	1	0	—		—		40	1
	Total		81	6	4	1	2	0	—		2	0	89	7
Huddersfield Town	2022–23	Championship	36	2	1	0	0	0	—		—		37	2
	2023–24	Championship	41	9	1	0	0	0	—		—		42	9
	2024–25	League One	17	2	0	0	2	0	—		2^[e]	0	21	2
	Total		94	13	2	0	2	0	—		2	0	100	13
Oxford United	2024–25	Championship	4	1	—		—		—		—		4	1
Career total			313	30	16	3	4	0	7	0	4	0	344	33

^ Includes Polish Cup, FA Cup
^ Includes EFL Cup
^ ^a ^b ^c Appearances in UEFA Europa League
^ Appearances in Championship play-offs
^ Appearances in EFL Trophy

International

As of match played 12 October 2021

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Poland	2021	7	0
Total		7	0

Honours

Cracovia

Polish Cup: 2019–20^[5]

Individual

Ekstraklasa Defender of the Season: 2017–18^[12]
Barnsley Player of the Season: 2020–21^[13]
Huddersfield Town Player of the Year: 2022–23, 2023–24^[14]

References

^ "Notification of shirt numbers: Barnsley" (PDF). English Football League. p. 4. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Michał Helik at Soccerway. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
^ Żukowski, Jacek (9 June 2017). "Michał Helik będzie grał w Cracovii". Gazeta Krakowska (in Polish). Retrieved 20 December 2020.
^ "Michal Helik Signs For The Reds!". www.barnsleyfc.co.uk. Barnsley F.C. 9 September 2020. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
^ ^a ^b "Barnsley sign Polish defender Helik". BBC Sport. 9 September 2020. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
^ "Barnsley 2–2 Bristol City". BBC Sport. 17 October 2020. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
^ "SIGNING: MICHAŁ HELIK JOINS TOWN!". Huddersfield Town AFC. 1 September 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
^ Galiński, Tomasz (17 January 2025). "Michał Helik wraca do Championship. Jest komunikat klubu". sportowefakty.wp.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 17 January 2025.
^ "La Pologne à l'Euro avec Arkadiusz Milik (OM)". www.lequipe.fr. 17 May 2021.
^ "Poland Euro 2020 squad: Full team profile". www.fourfourtwo.com. June 2021.
^ "Match Report of Hungary vs Poland - 2021-03-25 - WC Qualification". Global Sports Archive. 25 March 2021. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
^ "Rozdano nagrody w Ekstraklasie za sezon 2017/18" (in Polish). 90minut. 21 May 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
^ Helik is your Player of the Season! Barnsley Football Club (www.barnsleyfc.co.uk), Retrieved 08 May 2021.
^ "Michał Helik named Hargreaves Memorial Player of the Year". Huddersfield Town AFC. 28 April 2024. Retrieved 30 April 2024.

External links

Michał Helik at Soccerway
Michał Helik at 90minut.pl (in Polish)

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[12] Includes Polish Cup, FA Cup

[13] Includes EFL Cup

[UEL-14] Appearances in UEFA Europa League

[15] Appearances in Championship play-offs

[EFLT-16] Appearances in EFL Trophy

[1] "Notification of shirt numbers: Barnsley" (PDF). English Football League. p. 4. Retrieved 17 September 2020.

[sw-2] Michał Helik at Soccerway. Retrieved 20 December 2020.

[3] Żukowski, Jacek (9 June 2017). "Michał Helik będzie grał w Cracovii". Gazeta Krakowska (in Polish). Retrieved 20 December 2020.

[4] "Michal Helik Signs For The Reds!". www.barnsleyfc.co.uk. Barnsley F.C. 9 September 2020. Retrieved 9 September 2020.

[auto-5] "Barnsley sign Polish defender Helik". BBC Sport. 9 September 2020. Retrieved 20 December 2020.

[6] "Barnsley 2–2 Bristol City". BBC Sport. 17 October 2020. Retrieved 17 October 2020.

[7] "SIGNING: MICHAŁ HELIK JOINS TOWN!". Huddersfield Town AFC. 1 September 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2022.

[8] Galiński, Tomasz (17 January 2025). "Michał Helik wraca do Championship. Jest komunikat klubu". sportowefakty.wp.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 17 January 2025.

[9] "La Pologne à l'Euro avec Arkadiusz Milik (OM)". www.lequipe.fr. 17 May 2021.

[10] "Poland Euro 2020 squad: Full team profile". www.fourfourtwo.com. June 2021.

[Global_Sports_Archive_2021-11] "Match Report of Hungary vs Poland - 2021-03-25 - WC Qualification". Global Sports Archive. 25 March 2021. Retrieved 26 March 2021.

[17] "Rozdano nagrody w Ekstraklasie za sezon 2017/18" (in Polish). 90minut. 21 May 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2023.

[BPOS-18] Helik is your Player of the Season! Barnsley Football Club (www.barnsleyfc.co.uk), Retrieved 08 May 2021.

[19] "Michał Helik named Hargreaves Memorial Player of the Year". Huddersfield Town AFC. 28 April 2024. Retrieved 30 April 2024.

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