Polish side Jagiellonia Bialystok plan to loan Dejan Iliev from Arsenal for the second half of the season, after the Gunners recalled the goalkeeper from SKF Sered.

Dejan Iliev in goal during his final game for SKF Sered against Pohronie (Photo via SKF Sered)
Dejan Iliev in goal during his final game for SKF Sered against Pohronie (Photo via SKF Sered)

Polish journalist Tomasz Wlodarczyk, who writes for Sport.pl in his home country and The Guardian in England, claims Dejan Iliev was one of three players to make the Jagiellonia Bialystok shortlist of goalkeeping targets.

They considered Ivan Provedel of Empoli, Dinamo Brest goalkeeper Aleksandr Huto and Iliev of Arsenal. In the end, they decided on Iliev, according to Wlodarczyk.

Iliev started the season by going on a season-long loan to SKF Sered. That didn’t last though, as he returned to Arsenal early in December. He made 18 appearances but only kept three clean sheets in a badly-struggling side.

The 24-year-old spent the last few weeks training with the Gunners and searching for another move. He reportedly had offers from League One but rejected them.

Instead, he’ll move to the Polish first division. It’s a step up from the Slovakian league, though Jagiellonia sit 9th of 16 clubs after 20 games.

That’s not as bad as it sounds though. They’re actually only nine points off the top of the table, or five points off the lowest Europa League qualifying spot.

Plus, as long as you finish in the top eight of the table after 30 games, you qualify for the ‘Championship round’. Then you have the chance to make it up into those Europa League qualifying spots with an extra seven games. Plenty to play for, for Iliev.