Balogun, Nketiah, and Biereth - Motherwell striker's impressive pedigree

George O'Neill, BBC Sport Scotland

Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell spoke about how excited he is to land Mika Biereth on loan from Arsenal, and a quick look at the 20-year-old's background explains why.

Arsenal's Hale End academy has churned out high-quality footballers consistently over the last decade or so - Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith-Rowe in Mikel Arteta's side are the obvious evidence of that.

Biereth signed for Arsenal after banging in the goals for Fulham's youth sides - including 21 in 21 games during season 2020-21 - and joined a crop of young strikers that included Eddie Nketiah and Folarin Balogun, yet still managed to make an impact.

He continued to be a reliable source of goals at youth level, featured in first-team squads for Arsenal, and then last season earned a loan move to the Eredivisie with RKC Waalwijk.

There's more to Biereth's skill-set than just finishing. His intelligent movement, link-up play and creative flair has helped make him a regular provider of assists.

His time in the Netherlands was plagued by injuries, and while he fought back to full fitness, he saw contemporaries Nketiah and Balogun shine.

Nketiah was a feature in the Arsenal side that challenged Manchester City for the Premiership title, while Balogun scored 21 goals in Ligue 1 on loan at Reims and also made his international debut for the United States.

If Biereth can go some way to replicating those feats, Motherwell's Kevin van Veen-shaped hole may not be quite so big...