If Bartosz Bialkowski ultimately finishes his career as an Ipswich Town player he will do so a happy man.
The Polish goalkeeper, now a three-time Blues player of the year, signed a new contract in July which will keep him at the club until the summer of 2021 at least, with Ipswich holding the option to extend that by an extra year.
That contract could take him up to the age of 35, with Bialkowski and his family thoroughly enjoying life in Suffolk and delighted to have their long-term future sorted.
“It was good to get it sorted and I was so happy to have that contract keeping me here for another three or four years,” he said.
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“I’m absolutely buzzing.
“I’ve said 100 times that I’m happy here and I wouldn’t have signed a new contract if I wasn’t, so if I finish my playing career here then I will be very happy about that.
“You need to think about your family when you have a wife and kids, not only yourself, and they are happy here so that made my decision easier.
“I said while I was with Poland for the World Cup that once I got back I would sit down and discuss the new contract and we managed to do that. That was it.
“I try to be happy, try to be positive all the time and once I signed I was absolutely over the moon. I’m in the place where I want to be.”
Birmingham City had a string of bids rejected for the 31-year-old, but Bialkowski is keen to put those links in the past
“I got some phone calls but let’s not talk about that because that’s the past now, I signed a new contract now and I’m very happy here.”
The Blues head to Derby tomorrow night looking for their first win under new manager Paul Hurst, with Bialkowski looking forward to a reunion with former Blues striker Martyn Waghorn.
He will be doing all he keen to keep him out, though.
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“I’m positive and I’m sure the first win will come soon, hopefully at Derby,” he said.
“It will be a tough game, because it always is in the Championship, but we have a good record at Derby and hopefully we can maintain that.
“We know Waggy and he’s a fantastic player, but he’s a Derby player now and I will do anything I can to stop him scoring.”
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