Arsenal yesterday finally had a £3 million bid accepted for Legia Warsaw midfielder Krystian Bielik, with the clubs Norwegian manager Henning Berg warning Arsenal that the 17-year-old is still nowhere near the finished product.
“Being 17 this month he is nowhere near the finished article yet,” Berg told talkSPORT. “He has a lot of things to learn and to improve and I really do hope that Arsenal, if they sign him then they really look after him, coach him and make sure he gets the best out of his potential.
“He can handle himself on the pitch. For his age he is a physical player but he has good skills and ball control.
“You don’t see too many kids his age that have come as far as he has at his age so he’s got a good chance. But you’ve got to give him time because to play for Arsenal in the Premier League is a big, big step up.”
“It will be very difficult for him, to come in and play regularly for Arsenal within the next six months,” Berg added.
“He needs time to settle, adjust and develop and if he gets to train with the first team then fantastic, but to get Premier League matches will be a little bit too early for him.”
The former Blackburn Rovers manager admits he understands why Bielik would want to join Arsenal, but thinks he should have stayed in Poland a bit longer.
“He was in the perfect place for him at Legia Warsaw,” the former Manchester United defender said. “He had good players around him with lots of match practice at a good level, the right level for him.
“He has only been with the first team for six months so would have continued to develop here and got better and better. I was hoping he would stay but I can understand why he wants to go.”
