Michael Olakigbe Joins WSG Tirol on Loan from Brentford
Michael Olakigbe’s next test won’t come on a wet Tuesday night in League Two. It will be in the Austrian Alps.
The Brentford B winger has completed a season-long loan move to WSG Tirol, swapping the churn of the English Football League for a fresh crack at top-flight football in the Austrian Bundesliga.
It is the latest step in a career built on constant movement and constant examination. Still only in his early 20s, Olakigbe has already sampled four different loan clubs across three divisions. Now comes a new country.
From Swindon graft to Alpine stage
Olakigbe arrives in Tirol off the back of a solid spell with Swindon Town, where he spent the second half of the 2025/26 campaign in Sky Bet League Two.
After joining in January, he featured 18 times in all competitions for the Robins, starting six of those games. One goal, three assists, but more importantly, a run of senior minutes in a demanding league where every touch is scrutinised and every mistake punished.
Those months at Swindon followed a familiar pattern in his development: drop into the Football League, take the hits, learn quickly, go again.
WSG Tirol, who finished seventh before the Austrian Bundesliga’s league split last season and then stayed above the relegation group by three points, now hand him a very different brief. This is not about survival in the English lower leagues. This is about showing he can influence games in a top division, in a new tactical culture, under a different kind of pressure.
Brentford’s long game
Brentford have been deliberate with Olakigbe. They tied him down to a long-term contract in November 2023, a season in which he made eight Premier League appearances for the Bees. Those minutes with the first team underlined the club’s belief that there is a player worth investing in.
Since then, his pathway has zigzagged through the EFL.
He joined Peterborough United on loan in January 2024, featuring in five league games during the second half of the 2023/24 season. That campaign ended in frustration, with Posh falling in the League One play-off semi-final.
The following May, he headed to Wigan Athletic, adding 18 appearances to his record before Brentford recalled him mid-season. From there, he moved again in January 2025, this time to Chesterfield Town for the remainder of the campaign. The Spireites also saw their promotion hopes cut short in the League Two play-off semi-final.
Different clubs, different systems, same lesson: nothing is handed to you.
“Test himself again in men’s football”
Brentford B head coach Sam Saunders made no attempt to dress the move up as anything other than another examination of character and quality.
“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. This is not a farewell. It is an assignment.
A different kind of challenge
Austria will ask new questions of Olakigbe. The tempo, the tactical emphasis, the physical profile of the league – all of it shifts from what he has grown used to in England’s lower tiers.
At WSG Tirol, he joins a side that flirted with danger last season before pulling clear of the relegation group. They need end product from wide areas. They need players who can carry the ball, commit defenders, and turn tight games.
Olakigbe has shown flashes of that at Swindon, Wigan, Chesterfield, and Peterborough. Now he must show it consistently, in a league where one strong season can transform a reputation.
Brentford will watch closely. So will Tirol. One club sees a long-term project, the other sees an immediate weapon.
The next nine months will decide which version of Michael Olakigbe steps back through the doors in west London.
