Transfer gossip: Championship rivals beat Portsmouth to £1m signing of Birmingham City defender
Pompey have been linked with a move for Birmingham City defender Krystian Bielik.
Pompey are set to miss out on Birmingham City defender Krystian Bielik, according to reports.
Football League World have claimed the Blues were in the hunt to sign the 27-year-old along with Championship rivals West Brom and two other unnamed clubs.
The article suggests, however, the Poland international has favoured a move to the Hawthorns, with the Baggies expected to fork out a £1m fee.
It is believed Bielik is settled in the Midlands and did not want to uproot as he assessed options elsewhere ahead of a departure from St Andrews.
After joining Birmingham on an initial season-long loan deal in 2022, the defender sealed a permanent transfer to the Blues the following summer.
Pompey to miss out on Birmingham defender
He has totalled 115 appearances in all competitions but has fallen down the pecking order under new boss Chris Davies.
Bielik, who has 11 caps for Poland, is entering the final 12 months of his deal with the newly-promoted Championship side but is now set to make the move across the Midlands to West Brom, where he is expected to link up with his new team-mates in the next 24 hours.
It appears John Mousinho will miss out on the centre-back, with the Blues boss still looking to bolster his backline.
Pompey do have five contracted central defenders currently in the squad, with Conor Shaughnessy, Regan Poole, Hayden Matthews and Ibane Bowat vying for a first-team spot.
Meanwhile, Tom McIntyre’s future looks to be away from PO4 after being given the green light to depart Fratton Park this summer, having spent the second half of last term on loan with Charlton Athletic.
Pompey were interested in re-signing Rob Atkinson earlier in the summer before the 26-year-old penned fresh terms to remain with Bristol City.
But the backline is an area which hasn’t been added to in the transfer window, with the Blues’ football operations conducting their search in other areas of the pitch.
So far, six new faces have been added to the squad, with Adrian Segecic, John Swift, Florian Bianchini, Mark Kosznovszky, Luke Le Roux and Minhyeok Yang all arriving.
John Mousinho expects more signings before deadline day
He told The News: ‘We talked about absolutely anything and everything from football to non-football and everything in between, as we always do whenever any of the owners are over, any of the owners’ family or anyone from the board.
‘We always have a good chat, a good sit down, and take a snapshot of where we are as a football club and make sure we are all aligned.
‘We talk to the owners all the time about transfers and have regular calls and always keep each other updated on where both parties are at.
‘There are official lines of communication, we speak via email, via text, via phone, Andy (Cullen), Tony (Brown) and Rich (Hughes) are always in communication with the owners as well, so there’s a very, very fluid system we have and it works really well.
‘And I expect more business before the end of the window.’
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