Bristol Rovers is pleased to confirm the signing of Kacper Łopata on a season-long loan from Sky Bet League One side Barnsley.
The centre-back will spend the 2025/26 campaign with the Gas and becomes the Club’s tenth signing of the summer.
The 23-year-old, who lived in Bristol as a youngster, has also previously played for Brighton & Hove Albion, Sheffield United, Port Vale and, most recently, Ross County in the Scottish Premiership.
“We are pleased to welcome Kacper to Bristol Rovers,” Head Coach Darrell Clarke said. “We have been looking to bring in reinforcements to our defensive options and he brings a strong profile to our group.
“I worked with Kacper at Barnsley and I know about his strengths, ability and what he can bring to the team. He is an aggressive and dominant centre-back that we are looking forward to working with in the coming months.”
Director Of Football Ricky Martin said: “Kacper is an imposing and powerful centre-back who is passionate about the role of a defender in the team.
“While only 23 years old, Kacper already has a good number of appearances in the EFL and SPL, and an understanding of the demands of football at this level. We are looking forward to working with him and furthering his development both on and off the pitch while he is with us.”
Born in Kraków, Łopata and his family moved to Bristol as a youngster and attended South Gloucestershire and Stroud College, where his talent saw him play for the likes of Southampton, Bristol City, Yeovil Town and Brighton & Hove Albion.
His efforts saw the defender sign a two-year deal with Brighton in October 2018, representing Albion’s U18s, before loans with Isthmian League South East Division side Whitehawk and Polish I liga side Zagłębie Sosnowiec.
Łopata moved to Sheffield United in August 2020, making his first-team debut in a 1-0 Carabao Cup win against Carlisle United in August 2021. Another loan then saw him join National League team Southend United, where the centre-back aided the team to a 14-game unbeaten run.
The move was made permanent in September 2022 with Łopata’s presence again seeing the side go on a nine-game unbeaten run with seven clean-sheets.
A short stint with Woking in 2023 was followed by a permanent move to Barnsley. The centre-back made his debut in an impressive 7-0 win over Port Vale and was a consistent in the starting XI at Oakwell, until an injury hampered his stint in the team.
Łopata went on loan to Port Vale for the remainder of the 2023/24 season, playing six times in all competitions, before featuring 31 times in all competitions while on loan with Ross County during the 2024/25 campaign.
Everyone at Bristol Rovers would like to welcome Kacper to the Club and wishes him every success in his spell with the Pirates.
A full interview with Kacper on BRTV will follow in due course.
