Krystian Bielik (; born 4 January 1998) is a Polish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

centre back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

and

defensive midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for club

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...

, on loan from club

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...

, and for the Poland national team. He first played senior football with

Legia Warsaw Legia Warszawa (), commonly referred to as Legia Warsaw or simply Legia, is a professional football club based in Warsaw, Poland. Legia is the most successful Polish football club in history, winning record 15 Ekstraklasa champions titles, a ...

in 2014, and after joining

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

in 2015, spent the second half of the 2016–17 season on loan at

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the E ...

club

, and then the 2018–19 season on loan at

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in C ...

, helping them gain promotion from

League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

. He joined Derby in August 2019.

Club career

Legia Warszawa

Bielik started playing football for his hometown club,

Górnik Konin Klub Sportowy Górnik Konin is a Polish football (soccer), football club based in Konin, Poland, Konin, Poland, they currently play in the V liga. Its biggest successes came under the unpopular Klub Sportowy Aluminium Konin name in the 1997-1998 ...

before being spotted by

Lech Poznań Kolejowy Klub Sportowy Lech Poznań S.A., commonly referred to as KKS Lech Poznań or simply Lech Poznań (), is a Polish professional association football, football club based in Poznań and currently competing in the Ekstraklasa, the nation' ...

scouts in 2012, and later joining their developmental academy. He won the Polish U-17 Championships with the club in early 2014. However, in July 2014, Bielik joined Lech's archrivals,

Legia Warszawa Legia Warszawa (), commonly referred to as Legia Warsaw or simply Legia, is a professional football club based in Warsaw, Poland. Legia is the most successful Polish football club in history, winning record 15 Ekstraklasa champions titles, a ...

for 50,000 zł (£9,000), and on 24 August, he made his

Ekstraklasa Poland Ekstraklasa (), meaning "Extra Class" in Polish, named PKO Ekstraklasa since the 2019–20 season due to its sponsorship by PKO Bank Polski, is the top Polish professional league for men's association football teams. Contested by 18 cl ...

debut against

Korona Kielce Korona Kielce, , (Korona – ''Crown'' – symbol of club and city, Kielce – name of city where club is based) is a Polish football club, which will compete in Ekstraklasa in the 2022–23 Ekstraklasa, 2022–23 season. In the year ...

Arsenal

completed a reported £2.4 million deal for the 17-year-old Bielik on 21 January 2015; the fee was officially undisclosed. Bielik made his senior Arsenal debut in the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

fourth round on 27 October 2015, replacing fellow debutant

Glen Kamara Glen Adjei Kamara (born 28 October 1995) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Rangers and the Finland national team. He began his senior career at Arsenal, where he made one substitute appearance in the F ...

after 60 minutes of a 3–0 loss at

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...

. He was a member of the Arsenal under-21 team that reached the 2015–16 U21 Premier League Division 2 play-off final, held at the

Emirates Stadium The Emirates Stadium (known as Arsenal Stadium for UEFA competitions) is a football stadium in Holloway, London, England. It has been the home stadium of Arsenal Football Club since its completion in 2006. It has a current seated capacity ...

in May 2016, in which they beat Aston Villa U21 3–1.

Birmingham City (loan)

On 31 January 2017, Bielik joined

club

on loan until the end of the 2016–17 season. He made his debut in the starting eleven for the visit to

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

on 14 February, and played the whole match as Birmingham lost 2–1. His next appearance was ten days later, as a substitute after centre-back Paul Robinson was sent off with Birmingham 2–0 up away to

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

. Bielik partnered

Ryan Shotton Ryan Colin Shotton (born 30 October 1988) is an English professional footballer and manager who plays as a defender. He is currently player/manager of Midland League club Hanley Town. Shotton progressed through the Stoke City Academy and sig ...

in central defence as Birmingham conceded once but, thanks in part to his "two last-ditch challenges in the closing stages", managed to hold on for the win. Playing on the right of a back three alongside Shotton and Robinson in mid-March against

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

, Bielik contributed to a clean sheet, a performance that confirmed his place in the starting eleven for the next few weeks and encouraged manager

Gianfranco Zola Gianfranco Zola (; born 5 July 1966) is an Italian football manager and former footballer who played predominantly as a forward. He was most recently the assistant manager of Chelsea. He spent the first decade of his playing career playing in ...

to consider trying to loan him again in 2017–18. Zola's dismissal coincided with the return to fitness of Michael Morrison and Birmingham's need for points, and incoming manager

Harry Redknapp Henry James Redknapp (born 2 March 1947) is an English former football manager and player. He has previously managed AFC Bournemouth, West Ham United, Portsmouth, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, Queens Park Rangers and Birmingham City. In his ...

reverted to a back four and prioritised playing to the team's strengths for the last three matches of the season. He used Bielik only in the final match, away to

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

, as a substitute playing in front of the defence to help the team hold on to their one-goal lead and thus avoid relegation to

Walsall (loan)

A shoulder injury that required surgery prevented Bielik going out on loan in the summer 2017 transfer window, but on 31 January 2018, he signed for

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...

on loan until the end of the season.

Charlton Athletic (loan)

On 16 August 2018, Bielik joined

on a season-long loan. His first senior goal gave Charlton a 2–1 win against

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Southend are known as ...

on 1 September. He scored in the League One play-off semifinals against

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...

, and was awarded Man of the Match in

the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

against

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

, a 2–1 victory at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

by which Charlton Athletic secured promotion to the Championship. He played 34 games in all competitions and scored 4 goals during his spell at Charlton, used in both

and

positions.

Derby County

On 2 August 2019, Bielik joined

on a five-year contract. The fee was undisclosed, but reported by the ''

Telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

'' as an initial fee of below Derby's record fee paid of £8 million, plus performance-related clauses that could take it "towards the £10 million mark". In January 2020, Bielik was stretchered off in an under-23 match with what proved to be an

anterior cruciate ligament injury An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during inju ...

. This kept him out of action for the remainder of the 2019–20 season. Bielik made his return to action in November 2020, returning in a 2–0 home defeat to

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

that saw Derby fall to bottom of the Championship. He scored his first goal for Derby in a 4–0 win over Birmingham City on 29 December. On 30 January 2021, Bielik suffered another ACL injury that kept him out for the rest of the year. Bielik made his long-awaited return a year to the day since he suffered it, coming off of the bench and scoring a 96th-minute equaliser with an overhead kick as Derby got a much-needed 2–2 draw with Birmingham City. He made 15 appearances by the end of the season as Derby were relegated to League One, and regained his international place, but was told by Poland's manager

Czesław Michniewicz Czesław Michniewicz (; born 12 February 1970) is a Polish football manager and former player who managed the Poland national team in 2022. Managerial career Early years In September 2003, Michniewicz was appointed as the manager of Lech Pozna ...

that he would not be considered for the

2022 World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup is an international football tournament contested by the men's national teams of FIFA's member associations. The 22nd FIFA World Cup is taking place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022; it is the first Wo ...

if he were a third-tier player.

Return to Birmingham City on loan

Bielik rejoined Championship club Birmingham City on 29 July 2022 on loan for the 2022–23 season.

International career

Bielik was named in Poland's squad for the

2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship The 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship (also known as UEFA Under-21 Euro 2017) was the 21st edition of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship, a biennial international youth football championship organised by UEFA for the men's under-21 na ...

, but did not play. He was called up for the

2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship The 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship (also known as UEFA Under-21 Euro 2019) was the 22nd edition of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship (25th edition if the Under-23 era is also included), the biennial international youth football ch ...

, at which he scored twice in three matches. Bielik received his first call-up to Poland's senior team for UEFA Euro 2020 qualifiers in September 2019. He made his debut on 6 September 2019 as a 70th-minute substitute in a 2–0 loss to

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

, and started three days later in a goalless draw with

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Style of play

Bielik can play either as a

or as a

. He is known for his technique, passing ability and also his aerial dominance.

Career statistics

International

Honours

Arsenal U21 * U21 Premier League Division 2 play-offs: 2015–16 Charlton Athletic *

EFL League One play-offs The EFL League One play-offs are a series of play-off matches contested by the association football teams finishing from third to sixth in the EFL League One table and are part of the English Football League play-offs. , the play-offs comprise tw ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

References

External links

*
Arsenal Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bielik, Krystian 1998 births Living people People from Konin Sportspeople from Greater Poland Voivodeship Polish footballers Poland youth international footballers Poland under-21 international footballers Poland international footballers Association football midfielders Association football defenders Lech Poznań players Legia Warsaw players Arsenal F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Walsall F.C. players Charlton Athletic F.C. players Derby County F.C. players Ekstraklasa players English Football League players 2022 FIFA World Cup players Polish expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in England Polish expatriate sportspeople in England