One to Watch: OGC Nice's Polish wall Marcin Bułka could be key to European aspirations

In the past year, Marcin Bulka has emerged as one of Ligue 1’s standout figures. After earlier stints with Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain, the 24-year-old Polish goalkeeper has truly blossomed at OGC Nice.

Bulka produced a career-defining performance against his former club, Paris Saint-Germain. Facing a PSG side preparing for a UEFA Champions League semi-final, Bulka made 12 decisive saves, setting the highest mark for a Ligue 1 match that season. With a fierce will to win, he frustrated Dembélé and his teammates, leading Nice to a stunning 3-1 victory at the Parc des Princes – handing PSG their first league defeat of the campaign.

Following the match, Bulka was deservedly named Man of the Match, and he did not hide a certain personal satisfaction: "Yes, I do have a bit of a revenge spirit when I come here," he admitted to DAZN.

Both managers – Nice's Franck Haise and PSG’s Luis Enrique – were full of praise. "We had a goalkeeper in a state of grace," Haise noted. "Credit to Nice, they defended incredibly tonight with a goalkeeper who made some superb saves," Enrique added.

From Chelsea to Nice, via Paris Saint-Germain

Born on October 4, 1999, in Płock, Poland, Marcin Bulka began his football journey in his home country before moving abroad very young. He joined FCB Escola Varsovia, a Barcelona-affiliated academy in Poland, where his talent was quickly spotted by scouts.

In 2016, at the age of just 16, Bulka made a bold move to England, signing with Chelsea’s youth academy. At Stamford Bridge, he progressed through the U18s and U23s, winning the FA Youth Cup in 2017. Despite training regularly with the first team, including under Antonio Conte and Maurizio Sarri, he never made a senior competitive appearance for Chelsea.

Seeking more playing time, Bulka joined Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer in July 2019. At PSG, opportunities were limited too: he made only one Ligue 1 appearance, a 2-0 win against Metz in August 2019. It was then he joined OGC Nice in 2021-2022 season With Les Aiglons, Bulka impressed enough during his loan spell (notably in the Coupe de France) that the club decided to make his move permanent in summer 2022.Since then, he has steadily risen to become Nice’s first-choice goalkeeper, overtaking Kasper Schmeichel in 2023 and establishing himself as one of the best in Ligue 1 McDonald's today.

During the 2023-2024 season, Marcin Bulka was simply outstanding. His 747-minute run of clean sheets, from September to November 2023, placed him in the all-time top 10 longest clean sheet streaks in the league’s history. Only legends like Gaëtan Huard, Vincent Enyeama, and Salvatore Sirigu have recorded longer runs. Bulka is now aiming to help qualify Les Aiglons for European competition next season: Nice currently sit in sixth, but only one point off Monaco in fourth and only two off LOSC in a third-place Champions League spot.

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