The ‘powerful and dynamic’ Mika Biereth has exploded onto the scene at Sturm Graz and it may be telling that Premier League giants Arsenal refused to include an option-to-buy clause in the striker’s contract when loaning him out in January.
That, by the way, is a decision which is starting to look better and better by the game.
Mika Biereth already has two goals in four outings for Sturm Graz, after all, one of those coming in the Europa Conference League hammering of Slovan Bratislava last week.
Arsenal farmed Biereth out to Austria after an impressive spell at Motherwell. And the absence of a ‘purchase option’ in his Sturm contract might just suggest that the London-born 21-year-old has been earmarked as a player with a role to play under Mikel Arteta somewhere down the line.
Arsenal loanee emulating Manchester United striker
“It has been a really good start,” Andreas Schicker, Sturm Graz’ sporting director and a long-time admirer of Biereth, tells Tipsbladet. “He has been well received by his team-mates and my impression is that he is happy to be here, although of course he lacks something in terms of understanding our style of play.
“We are very happy with Mika so far.
“Arsenal were not at all willing to include a purchase option. But we are still going to explore the possibility of keeping Mika longer than this summer.”
Biereth is following in the footsteps of his fellow Dane Rasmus Hojlund at the Merkur Arena. Hojlund also made a flying start to life at Sturm Graz – joining Manchester United for £64 million just a year-and-a-half later – but Schicker insists that the two players are centre-forwards with varying skill-sets even if they both share that predatory instinct in the penalty area.
Gunners refused to consider a permanent exit
“It is always difficult to compare. Mika is a player who has a really good feel for positioning himself correctly in the box. He is powerful and dynamic and, at the same time, has a good eye for his team-mates,” Schicker adds.
“Rasmus has other qualities. Mika is a different type of striker.
“He was already on our radar when he played for Arsenal’s U21 team. We have been in constant contact and, when our striker Seedy Jatta suffered an injury in January, we contacted Mika.
“And we are extremely pleased that we were able to conclude a deal so quickly.”
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