Meet Grzegorz Krychowiak, the cultured footballer with a travel bug relishing his West Brom adventure

Landing the 27-year-old on loan from French giants Paris Saint-Germain was a major coup for the Baggies and the double Europa League winner appears to be getting better as each game passes.

But just as eye-catching as his on-field performances are his off-field adventures.

Aware of the privileged position he finds himself in, multi-lingual Krychowiak is determined to make every day off count.

So far he’s been treating his time in England as a chance to see the sights with girlfriend Celia Jaunat.

Tourist trips to Oxford University, Blenheim Palace and Bath follow an action-packed summer that took in Los Angeles, Cuba, Mexico, San Franciso, Las Vegas, Bora Bora, and New York City. He’s also found time this season to visit Paris Fashion Week and Budapest.

“Football players have a lot of opportunity to change the club, the city, the country, to know a new culture,” he explained.

“So when we have a day off I like to travel a lot. Now we have a lot of opportunity to do it, so why not? It’s very nice to discover these kind of places. I think this country has a lot to give.”

Krychowiak is speaking at his first media interviews in England since his arrival from PSG. His English is good, but as well as his native Polish, he also speaks French and Spanish, which has helped him integrate with his Albion team-mates.

Sitting at the Palm training ground with a broad grin across his face, his lean but muscly physique doesn’t have an ounce of body-fat on it.

Coupled with designer stubble and a natural tan built up on his travels, the jet-setting Pole looks more like an international model than a hard-tackling defensive midfielder.

And that's apt, because on top of the travelling, fashion and photography are two more of his hobbies away from football.

His sartorial choices are often picked up on by close friend and former Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, who plays with him in the Polish national team.

“He doesn’t understand fashion, so when he’s not agreeing with me, it makes me look good!” joked Krychowiak.

Visiting universities and stately homes flies in the face of the widely-held perception of the modern day footballer, but the midfielder doesn’t think his cultured passions are superior to any others.

“Every player and every person is different,” he said. “One person can have this hobby, another one may not. We are all very different. I know I like that (to travel) but I respect someone else who likes something else.”

It was a busy summer flying all over the world – “I didn’t play a lot so I wasn’t tired” – but he's unlikely to rack up as many air miles next year, when there’s only one destination on his mind.

Krychowiak has got back into the Poland squad since joining the Baggies and helped his country qualify for next summer’s World Cup in Russia.

And he admitted the upcoming tournament was one of the reasons he decided to join Albion.

“It was one of the reasons, yes,” he said. “I didn’t go to the two last games with Poland. I spoke with the coach, he told me that it would be better that I find a club, then I will be back.

“So it was very important for me to have the opportunity to play in the World Cup. The reason why I went to West Bromwich? It was the World Cup and to discover the Premier League.”

Krychowiak is just one member of a strong Polish squad that includes Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski and has been heralded as the country’s best since 1982, when they finished third in Spain.

“We are a good team,” he admitted. “But we have to prove every game that we deserved this place, that we deserve to go to Russia, because it’s not going to be easy.

“We have an opportunity to make a big surprise but we need to still work hard and be focused.

“Hopefully we play the best World Cup possible and go as far as possible. We try to show to everyone that we have the capacity to do something big.”

Before that though, Krychowiak is focused on kick-starting Albion’s season.

Despite playing well in his first five matches, he’s yet to win a game with the Baggies. But the midfielder reckons he is getting stronger as each game passes.

“It was a little bit difficult (at the start) because I didn’t make a pre-season with PSG and I didn’t play the friendly games,” he said. “I need to work to be at 100 per cent on my form physically.”

Although he’s a defensive midfielder, head coach Tony Pulis has challenged him to break forward with the ball and be a dynamic box-to-box presence. It’s something Krychowiak has taken on board.

“The most important thing is that I need to play like coach wants,” he said. “I don’t need to change a lot of things to play the English football.

"I know in England we speak a lot about the players, box to box, they run a lot. I know where I am strong. I am a defensive midfielder but I can give something more offensive to this team.”

After winning the Europa League twice with Sevilla and joining PSG for £28m, when he pitched up at The Hawthorns it came as a bit of a surprise.

Arriving with such a high reputation, there is plenty of pressure on his shoulders to deliver this season.

But even though the targets are different, Krychowiak is relishing the challenge.

“The objective of the club is different to PSG, I know that,” he said. “But it’s an opportunity to play in the Premier League, and every week you play against one of the best teams in the world.

“And you have the opportunity to win against them because in the Premier League you can win against everyone.

“The teams like Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool are very good teams. But when we play against them we want to win.”

His ambition on the pitch is only matched by his adventure off it, so what’s the next destination for Krychowiak on his sight-seeing tour of England? Cadbury World? Dudley Zoo? The Black Country Living Museum?

“I don’t know! Look at my Instagram and you will know!”