Cardiff City Sign Krystian Bielik From West Brom

Cardiff City have signed Krystian Bielik from Championship rivals West Bromwich Albion on a permanent transfer, BBC Sport reports. The 28-year-old centre-back has agreed a three-year contract with the Bluebirds, while the fee has not been disclosed by the clubs. He becomes Cardiff's fourth senior addition of the summer.

Watch the highlights:

Bielik made 17 Championship appearances for West Brom last season as the club finished 21st and narrowly avoided relegation to League One. Although primarily a central defender, the Poland international can also play in defensive midfield, giving Cardiff an additional option in two areas of the team.

The move continues a career in British football that began when Bielik joined Arsenal from Legia Warsaw in 2015. Before moving to West Brom last summer, he had spells with Birmingham City, Walsall, Charlton Athletic and Derby County. His arrival in Wales follows Cardiff's recruitment of goalkeeper Nathan Trott, midfielder Jack Moylan and left-back Calum Scanlon, who returned on loan from Liverpool.

Cardiff's need for another defender has been heightened by injuries. BBC Sport reported that Will Fish, Dylan Lawlor, Calum Chambers and Gabriel Osho were all sidelined, although Osho was believed to be close to returning. That situation had left the Bluebirds without a fit senior central defender at the time Bielik's transfer was completed.

The shortage was underlined in the EFL Cup on Tuesday, when 15-year-old defender Noah Anyadike made his Cardiff debut during a 2-1 second-round defeat by Norwich City. Anyadike became the youngest player in EFL Cup history, according to the BBC report, as Cardiff turned to the academy amid their absences.

Bielik told Cardiff's official website that he was excited to join and wanted to begin training with the squad immediately. He said previous visits as an opponent had shown him the difficulty of playing at Cardiff and the atmosphere created by the club's supporters. Bielik is in contention to make his debut when Cardiff host Chris Wilder's Sheffield United on Saturday at 15:00 BST.