Raków Częstochowa had a disappointing start to the new Ekstraklasa season. The team of Dawid Kroczka lost 1:2 to Wisła Płock and Śląsk Wrocław. The only positive for Raków is the advancement to the third round of the UEFA Conference League after a 7:1 win over Maltese Valletta. Apart from that, the Częstochowians are undergoing changes in the squad. Jonatan Braut Brunes left the club, with Sparta Prague paying six million euros for him. Raków is also without Iván López, Zoran Arsenić, Leonardo Rocha, and Ariel Mosór. British journalist Alex Jones reports that the new striker for Raków will be Ali Al-Hamadi from Ipswich Town. The Premier League team will not permanently lose the Iraqi player, as the transaction will be made in the form of a one-year loan. It seems that Raków will not have the opportunity to buy this player after the end of the season. Al-Hamadi played for Iraq at the World Cup, but did not score a goal in any of the matches. Let's recall that Iraq played in a group with Senegal (0:5), France (0:3), and Norway (1:4). Al-Hamadi scored a goal in the match against Bolivia (2:1), which secured Iraq's advancement to the World Cup. Al-Hamadi represents Iraq, but has spent his entire career in England. The striker joined Ipswich Town in January 2024 for just over a million euros. In the previous season, Al-Hamadi played one match for Ipswich in the autumn round, and then went on loan to third-division Luton Town. There, Al-Hamadi scored one goal and had one assist in 13 matches. Currently, Raków has three strikers in its squad - Mahir Emreli, Isak Brusberg, and Adam Basse. For now, the main choice for coach Kroczek is Emreli, who has scored two goals in four matches. The Azerbaijani representative is, however, on loan from FC Kaiserslautern. Raków Częstochowa is currently 17th in the Ekstraklasa, with a score of 0 points after 2 matches. The team has a -2 goal difference, scoring 2 goals and conceding 4. In the next match, Raków will face Legia Warsaw, which is currently 1st in the table. Raków Częstochowa will prepare for the double match against Hammarby IF in the third round of the UEFA Conference League, and the Ekstraklasa has agreed to postpone the league match against Zagłębie Lubin. The matches between Raków and Hammarby will take place on 6 and 13 August.