Jan Kacper Bednarek (born 12 April 1996) is a Polish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Premier League club Southampton and the Poland national team.

[9] Bednarek did not feature again until 8 January 2018 in a FA Cup match against Fulham which ended in a 1–0 victory before being substituted for Maya Yoshida in the second half.

[10][11] Virgil Van Dijk left in January, and Mauricio Pellegrino was replaced by Mark Hughes who switched to a back three in April.

[13] On 28 August 2018, Bednarek made his first appearance of the season in the EFL Cup against Brighton & Hove Albion which ended in a 1–0 victory.

[14] On 22 September 2018, he made his first Premier League appearance of the season against Liverpool which ended in a 3–0 defeat after replacing Oriol Romeu in the second half.

[29] On 2 February 2021, Bednarek scored an own goal, conceded a penalty and was given a red card after a foul on Anthony Martial in his team's record-equalling 9–0 defeat to Manchester United after Mike Dean checked the pitchside monitor.

[33] On 22 August 2021, he made his first appearance of the season in a 1–1 draw against Manchester United after replacing Theo Walcott at half time.

[34] Three days later, Bednarek made his first start of the season in an 8–0 victory in the EFL Cup against Newport County, which is Southampton’s biggest away win in their history.

[44] Bednarek made his debut for Aston Villa on 2 October 2022 in a 0–0 draw with Leeds United, replacing the injured Ludwig Augustinsson before half-time.

[45] The loan was ended early on 23 January 2023 as Bednarek was recalled to Southampton after making only four appearances in all competitions for Aston Villa.

[60] In November 2022, Bednarek opened up on mental health struggles whilst at Southampton which led to him leaving the club on loan to Aston Villa during the 2022–23 season.