11-cap Poland international Bielik joined Blues from Derby County back in 2022, and he has been able to avoid major injuries over the past two seasons to put in some standout performances, despite their relegation last term.
He was appointed club-captain by Davies last summer, and it was a surprise to see him remain at St. Andrews for their League One campaign, but instead of taking the league by storm and being a key man, the 27-year-old has struggled to nail down a starting place amid strong form from his fellow central defenders
Bielik did begin this season playing a key role in Birmingham’s champions-elect campaign, with 26 appearances in all competitions and 18 starts in the league up to the turn of the year, but he has been forced out of the team in recent months, with only one start in the club’s last 13 third-tier games amid a number of appearances off the bench.
It seems unlikely that he will force his way back into Davies’ starting eleven between now and the end of the season as his side close in on an immediate return to the Championship. As a result, our Blues fan pundit, Mike Gibbs, thinks there is no way back for the 27-year-old at St. Andrews, and has picked him out as the most likely of their squad to leave in the summer ahead of next term.
“For me, it’s about which fringe players are potentially going to be fed up and not going to have had enough game-time,” Mike told FLW.
“A few have moved out on loan already, especially the young ones. I can see them going out on loan again next year.
“I think in terms of senior players, a few come to mind. Potentially one of the strikers, not being first-choice, the likes of Alfie May or Lyndon Dykes.
“Obviously, Lukas Jutkiewicz is going to retire – it’s expected in the summer, but who knows. Marc Leonard has probably not played as much as he would have liked to, but I would be quite surprised to see him go.
“The one I’d probably put at the top of the list is Krystian Bielik, primarily because he’s just not getting the game-time right now.
“I think there are a number of players ahead of him. We’ve obviously got Phil Neumann joining in the summer as well.
“Right now, it feels like he’d be the most likely to leave, albeit there is Dion Sanderson to come back, and he is expected to move on too.
“I think Bielik would be missed. I think he’s been a good addition. If we were to sell him and recoup more than we paid for him, it wouldn’t be a bad bit of business though.”
