Nathan Jones has confirmed goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski as signing number two of the summer window. A goalkeeper with a wealth of experience, Kaminski comes in to rival Will Mannion and Ashley Maynard-Brewer as the man between the sticks and is expected to be first choice.
He was born in Belgium and has represented his country in youth football and made one senior appearance. He made his professional debut in 2009 playing for Germinal Beerschot and subsequently represented a host of clubs including Anderlecht and FC Copenhagen before moving to England in 2020 to join Blackburn Rovers.
He played 188 games for Rovers and won the Player of the Year award for the 2020/21 season. He kept 33 clean sheets during his time in Lancashire and earned himself a transfer to then Premier League new boys Luton Town.
Although the season ultimately ended in relegation, Kaminski was ever present for Rob Edwards’ side in the 2023/24 season. Luton were only able to register 2 clean sheets but the shot stopper did win the Save of The Season award for a fantastic double save against some team from Croydon. Sadly for our new signing the 2024/25 season also ended in relegation, with Luton Town now languishing in League One. Kaminski, however, was named as The Hatter’s Player of the Season.
Statistically, it is hard to compare Kaminski with current CAFC first choice Will Mannion as neither have played at the same level for any meaningful period of time. In the 2023/24 season Mannion had a slightly higher save percentage at 68% to Kaminski’s 66% but he also faced over 100 fewer shots. Kaminksi conceded 68 goals from an xGOT (expected goals on target, a metric that measures how likely a shot on target is to become a goal) of 64.03, Mannion faced 23 xGOT and conceded 26 (stats according to FotMob). On paper, the shot stopping abilities look similar but Kaminski will have been facing higher quality strikers and had a leaky defence in front of him, something Nathan Jones won’t allow to happen.
On signing his three year deal Kaminski said “I'm really excited to join the club. When I first spoke to the gaffer he came across very, very determined and very passionate about what we wants to do and what he's going to do.”.
Nathan Jones added "I’m very pleased because it’s a wonderful signing. Thomas was outstanding for Luton in the Premier League and he was outstanding last season in the Championship as well. For me, he’s one of the best goalkeepers in the division. We wanted to strengthen on all levels and improve every department, and we feel that the signing of Thomas does that.”
Lewis Williams of the We are The Hatters website told Louis Mendez at South London Sport:
"Some of the saves he was making in the Premier League season were just outstanding. We were getting up and applauding what he was doing because he was keeping us in games. We conceded a lot of goals. That was as expected, but he made some games easier for us with his shot-stopping ability."
Welcome to SE7, Thomas!