Oliwier "Oli" Zych (born 28 June 2004) is a Polish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Ekstraklasa club Raków Częstochowa, on loan from Premier League club Aston Villa.[2][3] Zych is a product of the Aston Villa Academy, having spent time as a junior in the academies of Arka Gdynia and Zagłębie Lubin in his native Poland. He has appeared internationally at youth level for Poland at multiple levels, most recently for their U21 side.
Zych spent time in the youth system of Arka Gdynia, before continuing his football career at Zagłębie Lubin, working through the youth academy. In August 2020, after being scouted by Liverpool, Arsenal and Bayern Munich,[4] Zych was signed by Premier League club Aston Villa, joining their academy.[5]
In 2021, Zych was part of the Aston Villa U18 squad that won the FA Youth Cup.[6] In August 2021, he was given a professional contract by the club.[7]
On 13 October 2022, Zych signed a contract extension with Villa.[8]
Zych was named in Aston Villa's pre-season squad for their tour of the United States of America in July 2024. He played his first senior minutes for Villa on 27 July 2024, coming on at half-time in a 4–1 defeat to Columbus Crew in Ohio, conceding a single goal to Dylan Chambost.[9]
On 4 September 2023, Zych signed for Polish top flight club Puszcza Niepołomice on a season-long loan.[10] He made his Ekstraklasa debut on 15 September, in a 3–1 defeat to Śląsk Wrocław.[11] On 1 April 2024, in a 1–1 home draw against Radomiak Radom, Zych was beaten by a clearance by Radomiak's goalkeeper Gabriel Kobylak from outside his box.[12] Despite this, Zych received praise for his performances across the 2023–24 season, resulting in a nomination for the Ekstraklasa Goalkeeper of the Season award in May 2024.[13] He returned to England at the conclusion of the season.[14]
On 14 July 2025, Zych signed for Raków Częstochowa on loan from Aston Villa.[3] Having been on the bench for Raków behind first choice goalkeeper Kacper Trelowski at the start of the campaign, Zych played for Raków's B team in the IV Liga in August 2025.[15]
In 2019, Zych was named in the Poland U15 squad that was invited to join the 2019 South American U-15 Championship, however Poland ultimately withdrew from the tournament.[16]
On 7 February 2023, Zych was called up to a Poland U19 training camp for the first time, going on to captain the team in a 3–2 friendly victory over Czech Republic.[17]
On 26 June 2023, he was named in the Poland U19 squad for the 2023 UEFA European Under-19 Championship.[18]
In May 2024, Zych received his first under-21 call-up for a friendly against North Macedonia on 1 June 2024.[19] Later that month, Zych received his first call-up to the senior team, being named in Poland's provisional squad for UEFA Euro 2024.[20] His debut for the under-21 side only lasted twelve minutes – he was substituted in the 57th minute after picking up an injury while conceding the second goal in a 1–2 loss, which ruled him out of the tournament.[21]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Aston Villa | 2021–22 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3[b] | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2022–23 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2023–24 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2024–25 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4[b] | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | ||
| Puszcza Niepołomice (loan) | 2023–24 | Ekstraklasa | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 26 | 0 | |||
| Raków Częstochowa (loan) | 2025–26 | Ekstraklasa | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Raków Częstochowa II (loan) | 2025–26 | IV liga Silesia | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Career total | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 34 | 0 | ||
