Arsenal’s Krystian Bielik could make Charlton’s squad for their game against Bristol Rovers this weekend although Lee Bowyer is not prepared to take any risks with him as he recovers from a hamstring problem.
Bielik was absent from Charlton’s 2-1 win over BBurton Albion on Tuesday night after picking up the hamstring strain. Although the club were waiting on the results of a scan, at the time, Bowyer said he did not believe the problem to be serious.
Speaking after their win, Bowyer said, “We’re hopeful that Bielik might be OK to be in the squad on Saturday. Jonny Williams is not going to be involved, it’s a little bit longer.
“Krystian it depends how he goes Thursday and Friday. He wasn’t in the squad today. As we stand today, if he doesn’t improve quite a lot then he won’t be involved. We won’t take any risks with him.”
The 21-year-old is under contract with Arsenal until 2020 and given Raul Sanllehi’s comments that they will not let players run their contracts down any more, it looks like being a big summer for the Pole.
Will Arsenal offer him a new deal or will he be sold?
Speaking back in February, Bielik admitted he would ‘take into account’ any offers from the Bundesliga, as the Arsenal loanee moved into the second half of his third loan spell since moving to North London.
Since joining Arsenal in 2015, Bielik has only made two appearances in all competitions for Arsenal’s senior side. The majority of his game time has come either with the academy or with his three loan sides, Birmingham City, Walsall and Charlton Athletic.
The young defender has impressed with Charlton this season, playing a mixture of defence and midfield. Polish outlet TVP Sport asked him if he’d consider moving on to a new country to develop his game further, giving the Bundesliga as an example of where he could go.
“If there would be an option from the Bundesliga, whether for a loan or as part of a definitive transfer, I would take that into account,” Bielik admitted.
If Unai Emery wants to keep him, he’ll need to tie the youngster down to a contract extension. If not, now is the time to sell and recoup the money they’ve invested in him.
Presumably, there will be a number of interested clubs after the player’s performances this season. At just 21, Bielik’s had a major impact in pushing Charlton into the play-off places, and they’re only two points off the play-off places with 7 games to go.