Arsenal have agreed a £2.5m transfer deal for Legia Warsaw midfielder Krystian Bielik, according to James Olly of The Evening Standard. Legia Warsaw has confirmed that Bielik will travel to London to undergo medical tomorrow.
Legia Warsaw say Krystian Bielik travelling to London for medical with Arsenal. Scheduled for tomorrow – http://t.co/aHMXTtlCvU
— Jamie Dalton (@JamieDalton82) January 15, 2015
German giants Hamburg was also interested in signing the 17-year-old and had put in a bid for the Poland Youth international, but reports suggest Arsenal have secured their first January signing.
Earlier this week, The Times journalist Rory Smith claimed that Arsenal’s chief transfer negotiator Dick Law was in Poland to negotiate a deal, after Arsenal’s opening bid was rejected.
Arsenal offered a deal worth £1.7m, half payable upfront and half dependent on Bielik meeting a number of performance related clauses, and it was rejected. Legia are demanding a fee in the region of £2.5m upfront or £2m with a further £750,000 in bonuses.
It is understood that the player has turned down a move to Hamburg and chose Arsenal instead.
“Although Bielik has not publicly stated his intentions, it is believed he has set his sights on a move to Emirates Stadium over Hamburg and has already been told by Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger that he will become part of the first-team squad immediately despite only making six senior appearances for Legia.”
Bielik turned down HSV and will sign for Arsenal, according to Hamburger Morgenpost. — Daniel Busch (@dan_bu) January 15, 2015
Legia coach Henning Berg said of Bielik last night, via The Independent: “He doesn’t have any weaknesses. He is a physical player with good skills, good understanding, a good match mentality and good decision-making in the game.
“For his age, he is quite far ahead compared to others in his age group.”
Doesn’t matter how old you are if your good enough then your in #Bielik — *Rosalind * (@HappyGoonerDays) January 15, 2015
Arsenal will reportedly put Bielik in the first team squad straight away, despite the youngster making only six senior appearances for Legia. Former Arsenal striker, Alan Smith believes that Bielik is ‘typical Wenger signing’ but he will need a year or two to make significant impact for the side.
“It’s a classic Arsene Wenger signing, he’s one for the future,” he told Sky Sports News, via IBTimes. “He’s a big lad, over six-foot tall and a defensive midfielder, the kind the team needs, but he is 17 years of age.
“He is not going to slot into a Premier League team straight away. So again you are looking at a year or two ahead when he could possibly have an impact, so probably not going to have much of an impactnot this campaign.”
#AFC are closing in on Legia Warsaw defender Krystian Bielik – the first of many to arrive this month? http://t.co/NlgDaG5aEe — audioBoom Sports (@audioBoomSports) January 15, 2015
Peter O’Rourke of Goal.com further claims that the youngster is expected to sign a three year deal at the Emirates Stadium and is due to travel to London on Friday to undergo a medical and finalise personal terms.
Although Arsenal fans would be hoping for marquee names to arrive at the club, but they certainly won’t be disappointed in having one of the upcoming stars of future at their ranks.
Another important point to note here is, Wenger considers him good enough to play for the first-team, that shows Arsenal scouts have seen that he possesses qualities to improve the first team straightaway.
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