Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has confirmed that the Gunners are close to signing Polish midfielder Krystian Bielik from Legia Warsaw.
The 17-year-old has described the transfer as a ‘dream move’, and will team up with compatriot Wojciech Szczęsny at the Emirates.
Talking to the Polish clubs’ official website, he said,”I’m going to London to fulfill my dreams. I hope I will become an Arsenal player soon”
Bielik, will join the London club after undergoing a medical on Friday, with a reported £2.4 million fee agreed with Legia Warsaw; the club affirmed.
Krystian #Bielik will have a medical in @Arsenal on Friday: http://t.co/dpJTwt9A7Q
— Legia Warsaw (@LegiaWarsawEN) January 15, 2015
Arsenal manager Wenger confirmed the deal, while also revealing his first-team plans for the new teen recruit. “Yes, he will go into the first-team squad.” Wenger said. “He’s a defensive midfielder, 6ft 2in, he has a good energy level and technical level. It’s a gamble but, on what we saw, it’s worth to take the gamble. It’s an awful lot of money for a player if he doesn’t succeed. If he does succeed, then it’s cheap.”
The signing will give the Frenchman more options in midfield, with captain Mikel Arteta ruled out for three months. Having being troubled by injuries, Wenger at times has deployed a midfield of Calum Chambers and Francis Coquelin; the latter being recalled from his loan-spell at Charlton. Quizzed if he intends to further strengthen his midfield, the former Monaco played down such talk, and expressed his thoughts on reinforcing the defensive department.
German club Hamburger SV were also interested in the Poland U-16 International. Talking to Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcz, he confirmed that Josef Zinnbauer’s side had offered a better deal, although not by much, but it was Arsenal Wenger that made him chose the Londoners instead.
Bielik, who turned 17 earlier this month, joined the current Ekstraklasa leaders from Lech Poznań, making just five appearances. He was a part of the team that won the Polish U-17 Championships.
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