Bialkowski Set to Join Millwall on Permanent Basis
Monday, 27th Jan 2020 10:26

Town and Millwall have agreed a deal which will see keeper Bartosz Bialkowski join the Lions on a permanent basis.

The 32-year-old Polish international is currently on a season-long loan at the Den but with both parties having been keen to tie-up a longer-term switch this window.

Millwall before other clubs look to sign him in the summer - Cardiff and Blackburn showed interest early in the window prior to a deadline for his January recall passed - and Town to gain cash which they could now work with during the final days of the transfer window with a loan or perhaps two more likely than permanent additions.

According to Football Insider, Bialkowski will sign an 18-month deal at Millwall.

In June, Bialkowski came close to joining the Lions on a permanent basis but the move broke down due to concerns regarding the keeper’s knee which emerged during his medical and the £900,000 deal was called off.

A month later the loan move was agreed and Bialkowski has enjoyed a very impressive first half of the season for the Championship side with the Lions’ worries about his knee have been allayed by the keeper's consistent involvement this season. He has made 29 starts and one sub appearance.

It’s understood the fee agreed between the clubs is lower than the one agreed in the summer with an initial sum plus further cash payable over the duration of the deal and add-ons related to appearances and performance.

Bialkowski made 177 starts and one sub appearance for the Blues having signed from Notts County in the summer of 2014 on a free transfer.

The 6ft 4in glovesman, who had a short spell on loan at Town in 2009 without making a senior appearance, won the club's Player of the Year gong in three successive seasons before relinquishing the award in 2018/19.

Photo: TWTD

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HARRY10 added 11:58 - Jan 27 I shouldn't think the initial fee is much, as it will be loaded towards further payments for appearances etc.
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Facefacts added 12:27 - Jan 27 It just shows the cost of being relegated. No bargaining power. The Bart move is just to free up the wages. No substantial fees to spend now. Regarding Garbutt because he is on over £1M a year (1.3 i think i saw) there us no way we can make him an offer unless we know we are in the Champ next season.
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ArnieM added 12:31 - Jan 27 ..... as per usual “ giving away” our players for next to nothing !
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ringwoodblue added 12:33 - Jan 27

Sorry to see Bart go as he was an excellent keeper for us until Paul Hurst arrived.

Hope the money is spent on signing Luke Garbutt permanently as he has been instrumental in most of our goals when he has been on the pitch this season. Plus we need another goalie once Norris' loan ends. If Blackpool offer a decent amount for Nolan I would be happy to see another Hurst signing disappear.

blues1 added 12:40 - Jan 27

Some people have no idea. How would he be worth more now than he was in the summer window? With 6 months less of his contract to run, wed never get more for him. Unless there was more than one club in for him. As millwall are the only club who can sign him in this window, we have to take what we can get Plus we get the whole of his wages off our bill, allowing us some leeway to bring players in.

Cloddyseedbed added 12:49 - Jan 27 ITFC shame on you for your negotiating skills. Bart has shown he has no issue's with his knee in playing as many games as he has. Millwall tried that on to get a cheap bargain. Fee should be at least what was agreed when it was called off last time, or sell him elsewhere in the summer.
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Michael101 added 12:50 - Jan 27 Dont matter of its £1 or one million pounds Paul Lambert is not getting his hands on any of it.
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Bergholtblue added 12:52 - Jan 27 Not only is he going for less than was agreed in the summer, but the money is not all up front. Payment being made in stages and conditional add ons. This means that there will not be a pot of money for PL to dip into. We have not been savvy with selling players since John Lyall left us.
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Girthyguy added 12:55 - Jan 27 Typical of us to sell low when his stock is high. 900k was a joke he's worth at least double that. We really are push overs.
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blue86 added 13:00 - Jan 27 Gutted, but understand the reasons behind it. However, I still feel the deal should have been the £900,000 as was previously mentioned. Anything lower than £750,000 this time would take the pi$$ imo.
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Palestine added 13:11 - Jan 27 Don't get the low fee tbh. Also, if he is on loan, are Championship Millwall not paying all of his Championship wages whilst on loan? If not I don't get it.
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BeattiesBackPocket added 13:17 - Jan 27 So he's been sold now for an ‘undisclosed sum' meaning not the 900,000 we was offered in the summer because we need the money otherwise they would have just said that sum again! Good move for him and I wish him well but really would love prod we haven't sold him in desperation instead of even getting the original sum in the first place!
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Wickets added 13:19 - Jan 27 And a sell on to Notts Co. as he came on a free did he not .
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Len_Brennan added 13:45 - Jan 27

The possible factors in favour of the reported deal here would be:
If we're still paying some of his wages - Millwall are not a rich club & Bart was our highest paid player having negotiated a 'bumper deal' ahead of last season, so we may have been carrying a portion of it.
Bart had made it clear that he wanted to go to Millwall (or another side from London & surrounds) & would see out his contract in preference to a distance move to Blackburn or Cardiff
The relationship between Bart & (some people at) the club had broken down so badly last season, that there was no prospect of him playing for us again in the future
We urgently needed cash in to complete a deal for a new player before the window shuts, & this one has no affect on our current match day squad

One or all of the above could be the case, at which point the decision to sell for less than summer amount makes sense, both from a commercial & footballing perspective.
It just doesn't sit well with us though as he was a hero to us for 3 years+, and by all reports (mostly from inside the Millwall camp itself) is back playing on a par with his best performances in an Ipswich shirt. His knee is no longer a concern for Millwall & 2 other Championship sides were interested in him (reportedly - so perhaps there was no firm interest that indicated a likely bid), so if anything his value should have risen. I guess from the moment we went past the deadline where he could be sold to other side, we lost all the bargaining power and so today's news was almost inevitable. Maybe we had little hope of getting a deal done with Millwall or another side before that date, but that was the key for us getting a deal done for more than the â‚¬900,000 previously agreed.

FromIpswichToPhoenix added 13:49 - Jan 27 Let's face it, we never got Bart or Jonas back from the world cup. The Bart we got in return was a shell of the player who left to play. It sucks, but onward we go.
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dukey44 added 15:17 - Jan 27 And it's a lots less than the £900k they were going to pay... Best of luck Bart..
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ernie added 15:22 - Jan 27 Typical Ipswich move. He does better than expected so obviously let's let him go for less than originally agreed.
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davidsc1971 added 15:54 - Jan 27 We're really poor at negotiating player sales, we've been totally played here by the looks of it
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Robert_Garrett added 16:48 - Jan 27 We will Play against him next Season so good luck to Millwall. Perhaps Millwall will go up so that means MORE Money...………..
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