Stoke City have to prioritise Birmingham City agreement ahead of February 3 deadline | OneFootball

The Potters should push to sign Krystian Bielik before the deadline

Stoke City need to be searching for late additions to their midfield this week to improve Mark Robins' squad, and Birmingham City's Polish international Krystian Bielik, who has been linked with a move to the bet365 Stadium in recent days, needs to be made a priority signing before next Monday's deadline.

The Potters have had a quiet month on the transfer front, with just two loanees signed so far, in Josh Wilson-Esbrand and Ali Al-Hamadi from Manchester City and Ipswich Town respectively.

Boss Mark Robins is bound to want to add to his squad as the deadline edges ever closer, and versatile players that can play in both midfield and in central defence are set to be on the agenda, amid injury and form issues in his squad with Stoke currently in the midst of a relegation battle in 20th place.

Bielik has been a Championship regular for years with both Derby County and current club Birmingham, amid numerous long-term injury issues, and he has surprisingly remained with the Blues in League One this season as they look set to return to the second-tier at the first time of asking.

His quality, versatility and leadership values make him a standout in the third-tier, and now that their interest has emerged publicly, as per TEAMtalk reporter Fraser Fletcher, the Potters must push to bring him in before the winter window slams shut next week.

Krystian Bielik may want a move away from Birmingham City

Bielik started out in his native country with Legia Warsaw, but his high potential saw Arsenal shell out £2.4million for his services in 2015, when he was only 17-years-old.

He spent five years contracted to the Gunners, but was only able to make two appearances for their senior team amid loan spells at Birmingham, Walsall and Charlton Athletic.

His impressive League One form with the Addicks meant Derby spent a club-record initial fee of £8m to make him their marquee signing prior to the 2019/20 campaign, but his time at Pride Park was decimated by serious knee injuries, and he made just 49 appearances for the Rams across three seasons as they were eventually relegated to the third-tier in 2022.

Bielik rejoined Blues that summer, and he has been able to avoid injury over the past two seasons, but could not save them from relegation last year, yet was duly appointed club-captain by new head-coach Chris Davies ahead of their League One campaign after his standout performances despite the drop.

The 11-time Polish international has played a key role in Blues' champions-elect campaign so far, with 26 appearances in all competitions and 18 starts in the league, but he has been forced out of the team after a short-term injury in recent weeks, with his last three outings all coming off the bench.

Birmingham are cruising to a return to the second-tier this season, and they will have already started to plan ahead for the summer window regardless of which league they are in, but Bielik may not figure in those plans if they do go up.

Christoph Klarer, Grant Hanley and Alex Cochrane are all set to stay past the summer, Ben Davies is likely to make his loan from Rangers a permanent move, and centre-back Phil Neumann is also set to join from Hannover on a pre-contract agreement.

With that said, his hand may be forced to leave St Andrews this week for a new challenge in a higher league, as well as a better chance of consistent game-time for the years to come, and a likely increase to his weekly wages.

Krystian Bielik would be a smart addition to Mark Robins' Stoke City ranks

Stoke are currently in the midst of a relegation battle, and while boss Robins aims to guide his side away from the bottom three in the second-half of the campaign, he is currently having to contend with numerous injury issues to his defenders and midfielders.

Ben Wilmot and Ben Gibson are both currently sidelined, leaving Stoke in need of a new addition with Michael Rose and Ashley Phillips as their only fit centre-backs right now, while even when they are all fit and ready to play, Robins could well want to bolster his ranks in that position regardless, especially if he wishes to play a three-at-the-back formation in the coming months.

As well as at the heart of defence, Bielik can also play as a holding midfielder, which also massively appeals to boss Robins as he has a limited pool of players to pick from in the middle of the park right now, with Sol Sidibe, Jordan Thompson, Bosun Lawal and Ben Pearson all unavailable, and Tatsuki Seko as Stoke's only fit, recognised defensive midfielder as it stands.

The 27-year-old is Birmingham's club-captain for this season, and has nearly 130 appearances at Championship level under his belt, so his potential arrival would make a lot of sense to add to the Potters' largely inexperienced and young team.

Birmingham could make a deal tricky for Stoke this week

Birmingham currently sit top of League One, and so it would be a shock to see them get rid of any first-team regulars in the dying embers of this transfer window, especially given Chris Davies' reluctance to allow players to leave unless a replacement is lined up.

Bielik was out injured for two games at the start of this month, and boss Davies provided an update on his fitness ahead of his side's midweek trip to Huddersfield Town a few days ago, with an insistence that the 27-year-old is set to play a key role for the rest of this season, which shows how tough it could be for the Potters to sign him anytime soon.

"He's going well. Like a few of them, they've had injuries, a couple of weeks out, and then we're bringing them back into games before they've had much training so they're almost getting fit through playing the games," Davies told Birmingham's club media channels.

"He's had a cameo role against Exeter then he's had another short period against Wrexham.

"He's building up but he hasn't had the training that is sometimes necessary. But he's fit and available and ready to go and he's going to be an important player for us going forward."

Those quotes do not have the feel of a head-coach that would be happy to see his club-captain depart so late in the January window, but regardless, Stoke need to try and make a move to bolster their own ranks with a competent Championship player that clearly improves their squad.

If he is happy to make the switch to the Potteries amid a potential lack of minutes, a possible stumbling block in the deal would be his price tag, but as long as Stoke are not blowing their budget and potentially risking FFP breaches, they need to pay what is demanded and get him in as soon as possible.