Arsenal youngster Krystian Bielik has confirmed he is close to joining Norwich City on loan ahead of next season.
The 19-year-old defender has made just two first-team appearances since arriving at the Premier League club in January 2015, and spent the second-half of last season on loan at Birmingham City.
He made 10 appearances for the Championship outfit as they narrowly avoided relegation, but could be set for an immediate return to the second tier with Norwich this summer.
The Polish youngster revealed to Polish news outlet Laczynaspitka that he was in talks over a loan move to Carrow Road, and that discussions were close to being finalised.
When asked about his long-term future, he said: “I will probably be in Norwich City, on another loan, the talks are close to being finalised.
“I’m sure I will go back to Arsenal, I’ll be in the first-team and get a chance in the Premier League.”
A versatile player, Bielik initially arrived at the Emirates Stadium as a defensive-midfielder, but competition for places in the first-team squad is high in both positions.
Therefore, another loan move for Bielik appeared inevitable ahead of the upcoming 2017-18 campaign, with a host of English sides understood to be waiting in the wings for a potential transfer.
ESPN FC had claimed that Norwich were just one of three Championship sides keen on a loan move this summer, with Derby County and Nottingham Forest also interested.
Bielik is under contract at Arsenal until the summer of 2020, but it appears as though the club will allow him to continue his development on loan once more before assessing whether he is ready to make his Premier League debut.
His two previous senior appearances for the Gunners have come in the EFL Cup.