Football League World
·27 May 2024
In partnership with
Yahoo sportsFootball League World
·27 May 2024
According to The Star, Sheffield Wednesday are targeting a move for Arsenal's Mika Biereth, who spent the second half of this season on loan at Sturm Graz.
After securing their Championship position in a brilliant final 20 games, Sheffield Wednesday manager Danny Röhl can turn his attention to preparing for next year.
With goals being a struggle throughout the previous campaign, a new striker is a priority and the Owls are believed to be targeting 21-year-old Mika Biereth.
This comes after the news that they have also been targeting last season's star loanee, Ike Ugbo, who joined them from Troyes in January.
As reported by The Star, Biereth was previously a transfer target in January for Wednesday, following his recall after a spell in Scotland with Motherwell.
Despite having confidence that they would have signed him, Mikel Arteta's club opted to let him join Sturm Graz in Austria, where he enjoyed a fine spell. In 22 fixtures, the Danish youth international scored nine goals and provided four assists as he helped them win the league and cup double in Austria.
With Biereth returning to London, Arsenal will once again seek to loan out the prodigy, who has a contract running until June 2025. Wednesday are therefore interested in signing him once again and will hope the Danny Röhl factor will be big enough to influence the decision of the Gunners and Biereth.
The attempt to bring him to Hillsborough will not come without a fight though. This is a result of Sturm Graz's continued interest in keeping the player for another season, among a host of other clubs who are also prioritising the signing of the striker.
Despite the hope of Owls fans that Biereth will feature for them next season, Sturm Graz are currently in pole position. In an interview with news outlet Kurier, the Austrian club's Sporting Director Andreas Schicker released details on the transfer of Biereth.
“Yes, we want to try to sign Mika permanently. There is an appointment with Arsenal next week. Maybe they will quote a price that would be feasible for us. We can push our limits a little higher for a player like that.”
Clearly, Wednesday will have an uphill battle, as Sturm Graz have seemingly initiated contact with Arsenal and are looking for a permanent deal. However, should the Gunners be looking to keep Biereth for the future, then the option of a loan to Hillsborough may prove the most likely.
Mika Biereth's career has only just begun. At 21-years-old, he has proven a clear eye for goal and Arsenal may be looking at him as a future star.
In youth football, his record is outstanding. For his previous side, Fulham, he scored 25 goals in 37 Under 18s games and continued his streak at Arsenal, where he has added another 12 to his tally.
Since his emergence into men's football, he has continued his goal-scoring prowess and is averaging a goal every 178 minutes.
A hardworking forward, it seems likely that Arsenal would not let the Dane leave without a suitable offer arriving and a loan to Sheffield Wednesday could be the perfect development in his career.