Ipswich Town keeper Bartosz Bialkowski admits he doesn’t know how he’d react if the Blues accepted an offer for him, but insists he’d be happy to stay at the club forever.
The Polish custodian’s superb form led to Town telling plenty of interested clubs that their star man was not for sale in January and supporters, who have twice voted the popular 29-year-old their Player of the Year, were worried that big-money offers may prove too good for owner Marcus Evans to turn down this summer.
Bialkowski is still a Town player heading into Saturday’s Championship opener against Birmingham City, at Portman Road, but the transfer window does not shut until August 31.
Speaking exclusively to the EADT and Ipswich Star in an interview for our Kings of Anglia magazine, he said: “There is some speculation, there is some interest, but there are no firm offers. It’s hard for me to talk about it because I’m not sure how I’m going to react to that if someone comes in and offers silly money to Ipswich. Only then could we start to talk about it.
• Like our Facebook page for all the latest Blues news
“You gets calls all the time from other agents saying ‘I can get you that and I can get you this’. I’ve been in this situation before when I was younger and all the papers were talking about me and about top clubs. I learnt my lesson. I’m grounded. I’ve still got a contract at Ipswich (2018, with option until 2019). If anything happens then Ipswich have got to say ‘yes, we want to sell Bart’ and then we will see.
“You just never know what’s around the corner. Everyone wants to play at the highest level possible. I’m the same, but I’m not forcing anything. I’m not in the gaffer’s office every week saying ‘I want to go, I want to leave’ because it’s not like that.”
With his young family settled in Suffolk, Bialkowski continued: “They love it here, they absolutely love it. They want to stay here forever. Fair play to them. To be fair, if I stay here forever I’ll be happy.”
He added: “I feel the love from the supporters, it’s really nice, but I feel that love because I’m doing my job well. I’m just a normal guy trying to do the best he can for his family and himself. If other people appreciate that, then that’s fantastic. There is no reason for me to go somewhere else and start everything again.
“The ideal situation would be signing a new long-term deal here.”
• Edition four of Kings of Anglia magazine will be in shops later this month. As well as the full interview with Bialkowski, it’s packed with Town content – including a big chat with Pablo Counago, Diary of a Tractor Girl, ‘where are they now?’ piece with Danny Karbassiyoon, Town’s Top 100 players – the top 25 – and much more. You can pre-order here.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here