Michael Olakigbe Joins WSG Tirol on Loan for Austrian Bundesliga Season

Brentford winger Michael Olakigbe will spend the upcoming season in the Austrian Bundesliga after completing a loan move to WSG Tirol, the latest stop in a carefully managed development path for one of the club’s more intriguing young wide players.

The 20-year-old joins the Tyrol-based side on a season-long deal after a busy spell of Football League experience, most recently with Swindon Town in Sky Bet League Two. He moved to the County Ground in January and featured 18 times in all competitions for the Robins, scoring once and supplying three assists, with six of those outings from the start.

It was another step in a career that has been built on constant movement and new challenges. Now comes his first taste of football outside England.

A new landscape in the Alps

WSG Tirol finished seventh in the Austrian Bundesliga’s regular season in 2025/26 before the league split, and then did just enough to stay clear of the relegation group, ending three points above danger. It is the kind of environment where a young, energetic winger is expected to play under pressure, with every point carrying weight.

That is exactly what Brentford want.

Brentford B head coach Sam Saunders framed the move as the next phase of a deliberate plan rather than a simple loan offload.

“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,” Saunders 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.”

The message is clear: go away, play, be bold, then return better.

A career built on loans

Olakigbe is no stranger to packing a bag and starting again. He signed a long-term contract with Brentford in November 2023, a season in which he made eight Premier League appearances and hinted at his potential in short bursts from the first-team fringes.

The club then pushed him into the rough and tumble of the EFL.

He joined Peterborough United on loan in January 2024, featuring in five league matches during the second half of the 2023/24 campaign. That spell ended in frustration as Posh fell in the League One play-off semi-final, a harsh lesson in fine margins at the sharp end of a season.

Brentford sent him out again almost immediately. In May 2024, he moved to Wigan Athletic on loan, making 18 appearances before being recalled mid-season. There was no pause: he went straight back out to Chesterfield Town in January 2025 for the remainder of that campaign, only to experience more play-off heartbreak as the Spireites exited in the League Two semi-finals.

Different managers, different systems, different levels of expectation – but always the same objective: harden a talented wide player in real football, with real stakes.

Time to show he can lead, not just learn

Now comes a fresh test in the Austrian top flight. No familiarity, no safety net, no prior reputation in the league. Just a young winger with a Premier League contract and a growing stack of loan miles on the clock.

For Brentford, this is the next logical step. For WSG Tirol, it is a chance to add pace and creativity to a side that knows how tight the margins can be at the wrong end of a table.

For Olakigbe, it feels like something else entirely: not just another loan, but a chance to prove he is ready to come back not as a prospect, but as a player who can demand a place.