# Mika Biereth

Mika Miles Biereth (born 8 February 2003) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ligue 1 club Monaco. Born in England, he represents Denmark at youth international level.

## Early life

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

## Club career
### Arsenal

Biereth joined Premier League side Arsenal after starting with Fulham, and signed his first professional contract on 30 July 2021. 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. 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.
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, in the two legs of the EFL Cup semi-finals against Liverpool at Anfield on 13 January and at Emirates Stadium on 20 January, and in the game of the 23rd round of Premier League at Emirates Stadium against Burnley on 23 January.

#### Loan to RKC Waalwijk

Biereth joined Eredivisie club RKC Waalwijk on a season-long loan on 23 June 2022. 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. 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.

#### Loan to Motherwell

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

### Sturm Graz

On 19 January 2024, Biereth was loaned to Austrian Bundesliga side Sturm Graz for the rest of the 2023–24 season. 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 six goals and two 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. He scored 14 goals in the first half of the 2024–25 season for Sturm Graz, including 11 in 16 league games, and goals against Girona and Lille in the UEFA Champions League.

### Monaco

On 11 January 2025, Biereth signed a four-and-a-half-year contract with Monaco. The transfer fee was reported as €13 million, with an additional €2 million in potential add-ons. On 25 January, Biereth scored his first goal for the club when he scored the second goal of a 3–2 win over Stade Rennais. A week later on 1 February, Biereth scored his first senior hat-trick in just eight minutes in a 4–2 win over Auxerre. Two weeks later on February 15, he scored another hat-trick in a 7–1 win against Nantes. On February 28, Mika scored his third senior hat-trick on a 3–0 win over Stade de Reims. In netting his third hat-trick, he became the first player to reach the ten-goal mark in the 21st century with so few matches played. He is also the first player to play three Ligue 1 home games with at least three goals scored since Thadée Cisowski with Racing in 1956 and the first Monegasque since Delio Onnis to score three hat-tricks in one season.

## International career

Born in England, Biereth is of Danish-German descent through his father, although the Danish coach incorrectly attributed this to his Bosnian mother. He represented Denmark at under-19 level. He was first called up by Denmark U19 in September 2021, and made his debut for the team in a 2–0 away win over Northern Ireland U19 on 6 October 2021. In March 2023 he was called up by Denmark U21 and in March 2025 by the senior national team. Besides Denmark he also would have been eligible to represent Germany, England and Bosnia and Herzegovina, however, Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann confirmed on 13 March 2025 that Biereth had chosen to play for Germany, but was ineligible due to FIFA's regulations regarding change of national team due to Biereth's under-21 matches with Denmark, thus only being allowed to play for the Danish national team.

## 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.

## Career statistics

    As of match played 15 March 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | National cup | National cup | League cup | League cup | Europe | Europe | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Arsenal | 2021–22 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 |
| Arsenal | 2022–23 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Arsenal | Total | Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| RKC Waalwijk (loan) | 2022–23 | Eredivisie | 12 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 13 | 2 |
| Motherwell (loan) | 2023–24 | Scottish Premiership | 14 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 6 |
| Sturm Graz (loan) | 2023–24 | Austrian Bundesliga | 15 | 5 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 4 | 3 | 22 | 9 |
| Sturm Graz | 2024–25 | Austrian Bundesliga | 16 | 11 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 6 | 2 | 25 | 14 |
| Monaco | 2024–25 | Ligue 1 | 9 | 11 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | 12 | 11 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 66 | 35 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 5 | 87 | 42 |
* ↑ Includes KNVB Cup, Austrian Cup, Coupe de France
* ↑ Includes Scottish League Cup
* ↑ Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
* 1 2 Appearances in UEFA Champions League

## Honours

Sturm Graz
* Austrian Bundesliga: 2023–24
* Austrian Cup: 2023–24