One of the most surprising deals made in the transfer window was AS Monaco’s decision to bring 22-year old Danish striker Mika Biereth to the Principality.
After a sensational first half of the season with Sturm Graz, where he scored no less than 14 goals and made 5 assists in 25 matches, Biereth solidified his reputation as a rising star with a number of remarkable performances. And while a number of established European clubs started to line up at his doorstep, AS Monaco ultimately emerged as the frontrunners for his signature, and finally reached an agreement to sign the talented forward for a fee of €15 million, as they identified him as a key asset for their future.
It was a remarkable change of scenery for a young, Danish talent, who just a little more than a year ago found himself on loan from Arsenal at Motherwell in the bottom half of the Scottish Premiership and the year before was far away from the radar of European top clubs on loan at RKC Waalwijk at the bottom of the Dutch Eresdivisie. But Biereth has never been shy of making unusual choices to steer his career in the right direction even if it means taking the unlikely choice.
Taking the road less travelled
The young striker has been the subject of much hype since his early teens and, as mentioned, was part of Arsenal's talent department. But as he wasn’t likely to get a chance of first-team action in a foreseeable future in North London, he didn’t waste any time taking the chance when Sturm Graz offered him a permanent contract for a club record fee (£4 million) following another loan spell.
"Not to achieve a breathrough at Arsenal didn't spell the end of my career. There are many ways to have a successful career outside of Arsenal," said the 21-year-old in a previous interview with Flashscore.dk. "While I was on loan there was basically someone new from Arsenal who wrote to me every day. They keep asking how I was doing, and I felt like an Arsenal player. But I can point to many examples at academies just like the one at Arsenal where young players would choose to leave the club if some people don't feel you are quite ready for the first team. In my case I then showed them a few years later that I was probably ready anyway," said Biereth.
With his career seemingly headed in the right direction at an Austrian club which previously has proved a great stepping-stone for players like Rasmus Hojlund, Dominik Szoboszlai and Erling Braut Haaland his decision to cast his future with AS Monaco was certainly a big surprise given the fact that the French Ligue 1 certainly hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for Danish players in the past.
Ligue 1 has derailed Danish careers in the past
Andreas Cornelius (Girondins Bordeaux), Kasper Schmeichel (Nice), Jacob Poulsen (AS Monaco), Kasper Dolberg (Nice) and Albert Grobaek (Stade Rennes) are just a few examples of players where their careers seemed to derail once they became acquainted with French football culture and their experiences are not a coincidence, says Flashscore’s French Senior Editor, Sebastian Gente:
“France is a league which is more and more unspectacular based on defensive tatics and sometimes it's difficult for forwards to shine. Scandinavian players suffer from a cliché, they have a bad reputation in France, and despite coming with great intentions, they often go back without success because they are being used in areas on the pitch they aren´t used to”, says Sebastian Gente, who is, however, confident that Biereth will be in great hands in Monaco.
In a class of his his own with Zlatan
“It seems like Biereth has already found his place at the club. Sometimes we wonder why a team is looking for a foreign player instead of taking a Frenchman, but this time, it feels like a right choice” says Sebastian Gente who feels that Biereth has made the right decision by joining Adi Hütter’s men. “Monaco is a great choice, because you're certain to play at a high level every year with the chance of European qualification, but without the pressure which is enormous in Paris, Marseille or Lyon. And you can go downtown without risk of being disturbed.”
And judging from his performances there are certainly early signs that Biereth has settled well in the Principality. After scoring hat-tricks against Auxerre and Nantes, Biereth became the first player to score seven goals in his five appearances for AS Monaco in Ligue 1. He was also the second to achieve this in his first five league games in the 21st century after Zlatan Ibrahimovic in 2012.
AS Monaco coach Adi Hütter is certainly also pleased to have acquired the services of the Danish striker: "He knows when to shoot, knows how to position himself and always has the will to find the net. Mika also does a great job for the team outside the box, and fits perfectly with our style of play, which is similar to the one he experienced in Graz", says Hütter to the club website.
Labelled as a true "fox in the box" by "L'Equipe", Biereth is in the French media described as the missing piece in a puzzle at AS Monaco where the club have enjoyed plenty of creativity in most positions on the pitch but lacked the clinical edge up front. Time will now tell if Biereth can continue his scoring spree and again turn into Monaco's new joker in their quest to reach the 1/8-finals in Lisbon.