Krystian Bielik is close to another loan move, this time to Charlton Athletic, according to various reports.
Bielik, who is still yet to make an appearance for the Arsenal first-team outside of the League Cup, is apparently preparing for his third loan spell in three years. Journalists in his native Poland report that he’s ‘close’ to a loan move to Charlton, reports which are echoed by those close to the youth teams at Arsenal.
Krystian Bielik bliski wypożyczenia do Charlton.
— Tomasz Cwiakala (@cwiakala) August 15, 2018
Bielik reportedly managed to impress scouts with his performance against Manchester City over the weekend, despite Arsenal losing the match 6-5. Middlesbrough were also apparently following the 20-year-old, but it looks like Charlton are going to win the race to sign the defender for the season.
The Polish u19 international had a terrible time with injuries in 2017/18. He spent the first half of the campaign playing the occasional game for the Arsenal u23s in between spells on the sidelines, then didn’t manage a single match on loan thanks to further setbacks in the second half of the season.
As a result, it was never very likely Unai Emery was going to rely on him as a real option this year. A loan makes much more sense, and hopefully it will get him back on track playing consistently. If that happens, maybe next year he’ll be ready for chances at Arsenal.