Mika Biereth

Last updated

Mika Biereth
Personal information
Full name Mika Miles Biereth [1]
Date of birth (2003-02-08) 8 February 2003 (age 21) [2]
Place of birth London, England [3]
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.87 m) [1]
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
Sturm Graz
Number 18
Youth career
Fulham
2021–2022 Arsenal
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2022–2024 Arsenal 0 (0)
2022–2023RKC Waalwijk (loan) 13 (2)
2023–2024Motherwell (loan) 14 (6)
2024Sturm Graz (loan) 15 (5)
2024– Sturm Graz 0 (0)
International career
2021–2022 Denmark U19 [4] 5 (2)
2023– Denmark U21 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 01:04, 21 April 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:00, 28 March 2023 (UTC)

Mika Miles Biereth (born 8 February 2003) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Austrian Football Bundesliga club Sturm Graz. Born in England, he represents Denmark at youth international level.

Contents

Early life

Biereth was born in London to a Danish-German father and a Bosnian mother. [5] He developed through Fulham's youth ranks. [1] [3] [6] He finished the 2020–21 season as the top scorer in the Under-18 Premier League South, with 21 goals and 13 assists. [6] [7]

Club career

Arsenal

Biereth joined Premier League side Arsenal and signed his first professional contract on 30 July 2021. [6] [8] He scored three goals in a 6–1 away win over Chelsea Under-23s at Kingsmeadow in the Premier League 2 on 19 September 2021, sealing his first hat-trick for Arsenal Under-23s. [9] In May 2022, following a string of impressive performances, Biereth was one of eight players to be nominated for the Premier League 2's Player of the Month Award for April, though it was eventually awarded to West Ham United's Sonny Perkins. [10] [11] [12]

Biereth appeared four times as an unused substitute for Arsenal's first team during the 2021–22 season: in the FA Cup third round match away to Nottingham Forest at City Ground on 9 January, [13] [14] in the two legs of the EFL Cup semi-finals against Liverpool at Anfield on 13 January and at Emirates Stadium on 20 January, [15] [16] [17] [18] and in the game of the 23rd round of Premier League at Emirates Stadium against Burnley on 23 January. [19] [20] [21]

Loan to RKC Waalwijk

Biereth joined Eredivisie club RKC Waalwijk on a season-long loan on 23 June 2022. [22] [23] On 17 September 2022, he made his competitive debut for the club in a 5–1 home victory over SC Cambuur in the domestic league. [24] On 7 October, he scored his first and second competitive goals as a substitute in a 3–2 win over Groningen at Euroborg in the league, helping the team record the first away victory of the season. [25]

Loan to Motherwell

Biereth joined Scottish Premiership side Motherwell on a season-long loan on 3 August 2023. [26] [27] He scored six goals in 15 appearances for Motherwell before he was recalled by Arsenal in January 2024. [28]

Sturm Graz

On 19 January 2024, Biereth was loaned to Austrian Bundesliga side Sturm Graz for the rest of the 2023–24 season. [29] [30] On 2 February, 2024, Biereth made his debut as a starter in a 2-0 Austrian Cup win against Austria Wien, scoring the second goal to take Sturm Graz to the next round, which they went on to win. He made his Austrian Bundesliga Debut on 9 February 2024, also starting in a 1-1 draw to RB Salzburg. At the end of the season, he contributed to 6 goals and 2 assists in all competitions for Sturm Graz, playing a crucial part in their Austrian Bundesliga and Austrian Cup double.

On 8 July 2024, Arsenal confirmed his permanent transfer to Sturm Graz for £4 million. [31]

International career

Born in England, Biereth is of Danish descent through his father, although the Danish coach incorrectly attributed this to his mother. [32] He represented Denmark at under-19 level. [1] He was first called up by Denmark U19 in September 2021, [33] [32] and made his debut for the team in a 2–0 away win over Northern Ireland U19 on 6 October 2021. [34] He was first called up by Denmark U21 in March 2023. [5]

Style of play

Biereth has been described as a robust player, possessing an all-round skillset and a knack of scoring goals. His style of play, especially his aggression and defensive contribution has been likened to Jamie Vardy. Like Vardy, he is most comfortable as a classic "number 9", or secondarily on the wing. During his time at Arsenal's Hale End academy, he developed his general and tactical play. [35] [36] [37]

Media

Biereth was involved in the Amazon Original sports docuseries All or Nothing: Arsenal , which documented the club by spending time with the coaching staff and players behind the scenes both on and off the field throughout their 2021–22 season. [38] [39]

Career statistics

As of match played 19 May 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueNational cup [lower-alpha 1] League cup [lower-alpha 2] EuropeTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Arsenal 2021–22 [40] Premier League 00000000
2022–23 [40] Premier League0000000000
Total0000000000
RKC Waalwijk (loan) 2022–23 [40] Eredivisie 12210132
Motherwell (loan) 2023–24 [40] Scottish Premiership 1460010156
Sturm Graz (loan) 2023–24 [40] Austrian Bundesliga 155314 [lower-alpha 3] 3229
Sturm Graz 2024–25 Austrian Bundesliga00000000
Career total41134110435017

Honours

Sturm Graz

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References

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