Dawid Igor Kownacki (; born 14 March 1997) is a Polish professional footballer who plays as a forward for German club Hertha BSC, on loan from Werder Bremen. He has also played for the Poland national team. Besides Poland, he has played in Italy and Germany.
Having started out at local side GKP Gorzów Wielkopolski, Kownacki joined Lech Poznaà  in 2005, coming through the youth ranks and making it to the first team in December 2013. He scored his first Ekstraklasa goal in February 2014 in a 5âÂÂ1 loss at Pogoà  Szczecin, becoming one of only five players aged under 17 to have registered in Poland's top flight. He won his first league title the following season. In 2017 he commented: "At 16, people were calling me 'the new Lewandowski' which was tough to handle, but I changed my attitude, grew up and am now much better at not taking to heart what people say. Of course, I still have big dreams".
On 11 July 2017, Kownacki signed a five-year contract with Italian side Sampdoria.
In November, he scored a brace and assisted another goal in Sampdoria's 4âÂÂ1 Coppa Italia win against Delfino Pescara in the fourth round.
On 31 January 2019, Kownacki joined to German Bundesliga club Fortuna Düsseldorf on loan with an option to buy. On 30 June 2019, he rejoined Fortuna on another loan with an obligation to buy, which was fulfilled in January 2020.
On 2 February 2022, Kownacki returned to Lech Poznaà  on loan until the end of the season.
On 22 May 2023, Bundesliga club Werder Bremen announced the signing of Kownacki on a free transfer from Fortuna for the 2023âÂÂ24 season.
He re-joined former club Fortuna Düsseldorf of the 2. Bundesliga for the 2024âÂÂ25 season. Düsseldorf secured an option to sign him permanently.
On 21 July 2025, Kownacki returned to 2. Bundesliga on another loan, joining Hertha BSC.
Kownacki represented Poland at various youth levels ranging from U16 until U21, earning 46 appearances and scoring 31 goals. He received his first call-up to the senior squad for matches against Georgia and Greece in June 2015. On 23 March 2018, Kownacki debuted in a friendly match against Nigeria, playing 72 minutes.
Kownacki was named in Poland's 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, and was considered back-up to Robert Lewandowski.
Lech Poznaà Â
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