The iconic number nine shirt at Birmingham City has a new custodian. August Priske, the 22-year-old Danish forward, has taken over the jersey from Kyogo Furuhashi and has already made a significant impression in pre-season, scoring four goals – including a towering header against Barcelona in Friday's friendly at St Andrew's. Dozens of supporters at that match had already purchased replica shirts with 'Priske 9' on the back, a sign of the expectation surrounding their new striker.
A shirt with history
Few jerseys in English football carry as much weight as the one Priske now wears. The list of previous occupants is a who's who of Blues' goalscorers: Paul Adams, Clayton Donaldson, Rob King and Kevin Phillips all thrived in the Championship with the number nine on their backs. Mikael Forssell and Geoff Horsfield delivered in the Premier League, while Bob Latchford and Kenny Burns remain fondly remembered by older supporters.
In more recent times, the shirt has proven less kind. Scott Hogan, Lukas May and Kyogo all wore it without ever truly convincing at Championship level. Kyogo, in particular, is said to have dithered over accepting the shirt last year, having previously preferred the number eight. Priske, by contrast, needed no time to decide.
No hesitation from Priske
When Kyogo departed, the number nine became available, and Priske immediately grabbed the opportunity. Birmingham City manager Chris Davies revealed: "The nine came up with Kyogo going and he wanted it. 'Yep, no problem, take it.' I don't see a player that will shirk under any kind of pressure. He's a strong character and I think he will love having that nine on his back."
Priske wore the nine at Swedish club Djurgarden, where he finished as top scorer in his only full season in the Allsvenskan. He revealed that several senior players at Blues encouraged him to take on the mantle. "Some of the lads came and spoke to me about it, so it was kind of a mutual decision," Priske told BirminghamLive. "I'm happy to get it and it's a little bit of a statement. I know it's just a number but it felt good."
Pre-season promise
Priske has responded to the pressure in the best way possible: by finding the net regularly. His four pre-season goals include a powerful header above Gerard Martin and past Wojciech Szczęsny in the Barcelona friendly. That is a stark contrast to his first season at St Andrew's, where he had to wait until the final game of the campaign to score his first Championship goal.
Now, with the nine on his back, Priske feels settled and confident. "That's the goal when you go into pre-season and I've been fortunate the lads have created some good chances for me, which makes my job a lot easier," he said. "I think we've got a pretty good idea of how we want to play and it's been good for me to have that little adaptation period. I'm not saying it's going to be perfect every time, but I feel like I'm in a good place right now."
Dealing with expectation
Davies has been careful to temper expectations at Birmingham City, with promotion talk deliberately kept low-key despite the club's long-term ambitions. Priske, who comes across as intelligent and grounded, is following that lead. When asked about personal goals for the season, he replied: "Nah, not really. Win the next game and that's basically it." It is a shrewd response from a player who understands the scrutiny that comes with the number nine shirt.
The need for goals is clear. Kyogo's failure to score regularly last season was a primary reason Birmingham never mounted a serious promotion challenge. The club needs more from its new number nine, and Priske appears willing to embrace the burden.
Davies praises all-round game
Davies is impressed with Priske's development. "He's an extremely mature young man," said the Blues boss. "He is a young man and he's maturing in terms of his game, settling in and everything else, and to come back like he has with goals – for strikers it's all about goals. When you're a number nine it will be your confidence and you will be judged on the goals that you score and he's started that well in pre-season."
But the manager insists Priske is far from a one-dimensional forward. "He's much more than just a goalscorer, as you can see, because he gives us that reference point for any direct play, he's a threat on set pieces and he presses really well. I'm really pleased. His confidence is soaring at the moment so we have to keep him going."
