Michael Olakigbe Completes Loan Move to WSG Tirol

Michael Olakigbe’s next step in senior football will come in the Austrian Alps, with the Brentford B winger completing a season-long loan move to WSG Tirol.

The 20-year-old, who has been on a steady tour of the English pyramid over the past three campaigns, now swaps League Two battles for the Austrian Bundesliga after Brentford sanctioned another move designed to harden his edge in men’s football.

From Swindon to the Alps

Olakigbe spent the second half of the 2025/26 season with Swindon Town in Sky Bet League Two, where he finally put together a consistent run of games. After joining in January, he featured 18 times in all competitions for the Robins, starting six, scoring once and adding three assists. Not spectacular, but productive and increasingly influential as the months went on.

Now comes a very different test. WSG Tirol, who finished seventh before the league split last season and ultimately stayed three points clear of the relegation group, have moved to bring in the Brentford winger as they look to push themselves away from danger and into mid-table security.

The club offers something Olakigbe has not yet experienced: top-flight football in a foreign league, with the scrutiny and tactical demands that come with it.

Brentford’s plan for a seasoned winger

Brentford B head coach Sam Saunders framed the move as the next deliberate step in a carefully managed development path.

“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.”

Brentford’s faith in Olakigbe is not in doubt. The winger signed a long-term contract with the Bees in November 2023, during a season in which he broke into the first team and made eight Premier League appearances. Those minutes underlined his potential, but also highlighted the need for regular, high-intensity football.

Since then, the club have pushed him into a series of challenging environments.

He joined Peterborough United on loan in January 2024, featuring in five league games as Posh reached the League One play-off semi-finals, only to fall short. That was followed by a move to Wigan Athletic in May 2024, where he played 18 times before Brentford recalled him mid-season.

The next stop was Chesterfield Town in January 2025. Again, Olakigbe went deep into the campaign, helping the Spireites into the League Two play-offs, only to suffer another semi-final exit. Different clubs, different systems, same pressure at the sharp end of the season.

A new kind of test

Now the challenge changes. No promotion races in League One or League Two. No familiar away days at grounds he already knows. Instead, an Austrian side fighting to stay clear of trouble in a league that will test his tactical discipline and physical resilience in new ways.

For WSG Tirol, this is a chance to inject pace and directness into their attack with a player schooled in the Premier League environment and hardened by English lower-league football. For Brentford, it is another data point in a long-term project: can Olakigbe turn flashes of promise into consistent top-flight impact?

The next few months in Tirol will offer a clearer answer.