Michael Olakigbe Joins WSG Tirol for Austrian Bundesliga Challenge
Brentford winger Michael Olakigbe will spend the season in the Austrian Bundesliga after completing a loan move to WSG Tirol, the latest stop in a deliberately demanding development path for the 20-year-old.
The switch sends him into a new football culture after a series of EFL loans, as Brentford push him to turn promise into end product in senior football.
From Swindon to the Alps
Olakigbe arrives in Tirol off the back of a solid spell with Swindon Town in Sky Bet League Two during the second half of the 2025/26 campaign. He joined the Robins in January, made 18 appearances in all competitions and produced one goal and three assists, with six of those outings coming from the start.
It was not a spectacular stint, but it was steady, and it kept him on the pitch in the rough and tumble of men’s football. Now comes a very different test.
WSG Tirol finished seventh before the league split last season and then clung to safety, staying above the relegation group by just three points. They are not a heavyweight in Austria. They are a club that has to scrap. That should suit a young winger still learning how to impose himself when the margins are tight.
Brentford’s long game
Inside Brentford, there is no sense this is a player being pushed to the margins. Quite the opposite. Olakigbe signed a long-term contract with the Bees in November 2023, a season in which he broke into the first team and made eight Premier League appearances.
Sam Saunders, head coach of Brentford B, framed the Tirol move as another deliberate step.
“It’s a good opportunity for Michael to go and test himself again in men’s football, but this time abroad and showcase what he can do,” he said. “From his loans in the Football League, it’ll be interesting to see how he goes and expresses himself abroad. I’m sure that he’ll get some great exposure and some good learnings, and we look forward to seeing him when he gets back.”
Brentford have not hidden him. They have pushed him.
A well-travelled education
Olakigbe’s senior education has been relentless. After signing that new deal in 2023, he left on loan to Peterborough United in January 2024, featuring in five league games as Posh reached the League One play-off semi-finals before falling short.
Next came Wigan Athletic in May 2024. He played 18 times there before Brentford recalled him, sending him on again to Chesterfield Town in January 2025. He stayed for the rest of that season, only to suffer another near miss as the Spireites went out in the League Two play-off semi-final.
Different divisions. Different managers. Different pressures. The pattern is clear: Brentford want him on the pitch, in meaningful games, not sheltered in youth football.
Time to make a mark
Austria now offers something new. A top-flight league. A fresh style. A dressing room where he will have to adapt quickly, on and off the pitch.
For WSG Tirol, he brings pace and directness to a side that only just kept its head above water last term. For Olakigbe, it is another chance to turn minutes into moments that stick.
Brentford will be watching closely. After England’s lower leagues and the pain of play-off exits, can a season in the Austrian Bundesliga be the campaign where Michael Olakigbe finally forces his way into the conversation back in west London?
