West Brom are signing ‘intelligent’ player Arsene Wenger once called ‘very strong’
West Brom’s transfer activity shows no signs of slowing down as Ryan Mason continues to assemble a strong Championship squad.
The Baggies have currently signed three players, including a big-money transfer for Aune Heggebo and deals for centre-backs Nat Phillips and George Campbell.
Encouragingly, Ryan Mason is close to adding more names to that list. On Thursday, it emerged that West Brom are closing in on a loan move for Toby Collyer from Manchester United.
Meanwhile, West Brom are also close to signing Krystian Bielik from Birmingham City, someone who was once rated highly by Arsene Wenger.
What Arsene Wenger once said about Krystian Bielik
Bielik was snapped up by Arsenal as a 17-year-old for £2.4million in January 2015, following his impressive rise into the first team at Legia Warsaw.
The Polish midfield destroyer showed promise as a youngster in the academy at the Emirates but never made a first team appearance, despite Arsene Wenger once describing him as a ‘very strong’ player.
“Krystian Bielik is building up his fitness. The first signs we have seen are very positive,” Wenger said via the Daily Mail in March 2015.
“He’s a very strong player, he’s 17, he has a very good technical level and looks intelligent. But we’ll have to give him a little time to settle and adapt.”
Derby County eventually signed Bielik for a whopping £10m in the summer of 2019, becoming one of their most expensive signings of all-time.
Now, as he prepares to join West Brom for £1m, the versatile player will hoping to help Mason’s men reach the Premier League.
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Don Goodman’s comments on Krystian Bielik
As an experienced Championship operator with 129 appearances under his belt, Bielik will offer the Baggies versatility in the middle of the park and an option in defence.
After accepting a bid for Torbjorn Heggem, Mason needed an extra body at the back, and the 27-year-old is someone who can quality in abundance.
| Krystian Bielik’s 2024/25 Birmingham City stats |
| 20 starts |
| 88% passing accuracy |
| 6 clean sheets |
| 1.4 interceptions per game |
| 4.1 balls recovered per game |
| 3.3 clearances per game |
| 65% duels won |
Speaking about Bielik in July, former West Brom player Don Goodman told Football League World: “I think Krystian Bielik is a good, solid Championship player with a vast amount of experience who is coming into the prime of his career.
“So at his age, you want to be playing with week in, week out, you want to be getting regular football. So from his perspective, if he feels that the manager doesn’t fancy him to be starting games, then he will probably want to move on.”
Bielik is now set for the next chapter of his career at West Brom, who have lofty ambitions of being promoted to the top flight.
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