{"id":742478,"date":"2026-02-04T20:16:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T20:16:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/742478\/"},"modified":"2026-02-04T20:16:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T20:16:17","slug":"august-priske-birmingham-city-put-their-money-where-their-mouth-is-im-not-jesus-here-yet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/742478\/","title":{"rendered":"August Priske: Birmingham City put their money where their mouth is \u2014 I’m not Jesus here yet"},"content":{"rendered":"

The son of a footballer and a priest, August Priske\u2019s<\/a> ability to score goals made him the saviour of Djurg\u00e5rden and blessed him with a transfer to Birmingham City.<\/a><\/p>\n

Before we get into the whole \u2018Jesus Priskus\u2019 phenomenon, let\u2019s take a journey back to BC.<\/p>\n

Priske has been guided, but never pushed, by his dad, Brian Priske \u2013 who won 24 caps for Denmark and now manages Sparta Prague \u2013 to tread the same path.<\/p>\n

FOLLOW ON FACEBOOK! <\/strong>All the latest Blues news on Birmingham Live\u2019s Birmingham City FC Facebook page<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThey didn\u2019t really try and push me when I was younger. It was my own thing. If I wanted to play football, fine, go and play football,\u201d Priske told BirminghamLive.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t one of those things where they would wake me up in the morning, tell me to get out and start shooting.<\/p>\n

\u201cI played a lot of handball when I was younger so it wasn\u2019t really them pushing me into it, but now as I get further along and more into my career and it became more professional and serious, I think my dad has good knowledge about everything so he\u2019s always there to help me make decisions.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s never really been a thing where I felt that they were on me, more of a helping hand in the background.\u201d<\/p>\n

Priske was born in Belgium, while his dad was playing for Genk, and spent time in England and Denmark, whom he now represents on the international stage, in his formative years.<\/p>\n

It should come as no surprise that he is multilingual. Priske speaks Danish, Swedish, Dutch and English fluently.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I\u2019d lived in four or five countries before I was five-years-old so I think that does something to you. I always told my parents, a lot of people look at it and say that\u2019s not a nice upbringing, but I loved it and I still love it.<\/p>\n

\u201cGoing new places and meeting new people is fun. Now I know a lot of people in Sweden, Holland, Denmark and England.<\/p>\n

\u201cI quite like it. I doubt I\u2019ll ever be one of those guys who can live in the same place or country for 30 years. I think I\u2019ve got to do something \u2013 I get that from my mom I think.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"August<\/p>\n

August Priske’s dad, Brian Priske (pictured), played for Denmark and is now the manager of Sparta Prague<\/p>\n

Priske is only 21 but England is already the fourth country of his professional career.<\/p>\n

The 6ft 4in striker, who top scored in Sweden\u2019s Allsvenskan last year with 18 goals in 27 matches, leapt off the page when Blues manager Chris Davies<\/a> requested a new centre-forward in January.<\/p>\n

Despite a lot of interested parties, Priske always thought he would end up in England \u2013 even before Blues made their interest known.<\/p>\n

Priske explained: \u201cIt was pretty early in the window and one of my friends asked me where I was going to end up. I said \u2018I\u2019ve got no idea, my gut tells me England\u2026\u2019 He said, \u2018I think so too!\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are a lot of leagues that look for that type of player. Modern football is a lot with the bigger striker who can preferably run so that\u2019s fine by me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Priske isn\u2019t the first person to be sold on the project. November\u2019s unveiling of The Powerhouse<\/a> didn\u2019t reach Priske in Sweden but his reaction to Blues\u2019 proposed 62,000-seater stadium, surrounded by 12 colossal chimneys, wasn\u2019t dissimilar to ours: \u201cF****** hell!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s crazy. I had the first meeting with Craig (Gardner) and the manager and they told me about the ambition and the fact that they backed it up meant a lot to me.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you speak to different clubs, they always want to go for something you know, but with certain clubs you can feel that they are putting their money where their mouth is and I felt like this was one of those clubs. It\u2019s real, what\u2019s going on here.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter I had the first talk with Birmingham,<\/a> which was later than other clubs, it was a time to go thing. There weren\u2019t any talks with clubs after Birmingham<\/a>, I spoke to my agent after the meeting and said, \u2018Let\u2019s go for it\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Championship is a different beast to the Allsvenskan, hence why Davies\u2019 first words on Priske were designed to temper immediate expectations.<\/a><\/p>\n

Priske has started brightly in his two substitute appearances and would have scored his first Blues goal against Oxford United but for a strong left-handed save from Jamie Cumming.<\/p>\n

\"Birmingham<\/p>\n

Birmingham City’s August Priske<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first impression is that it\u2019s very intense, actually,\u201d Priske commented. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of back and forth, and quick attacks. I don\u2019t really mind that, that\u2019s pretty good.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always a little bit extra chaos in the last 30 minutes of a game, which has been when I\u2019ve played, so I know that the first 60 are probably a little bit different. I feel like I can do well in a lot of the situations.\u201d<\/p>\n

If Priske can excel, he will be adored at St Andrew\u2019s \u2013 and possibly at The Powerhouse given the length of his contract (five-and-a-half years).<\/p>\n

Adulation is something he has felt before, but not something the self-assured youngster craves.<\/p>\n

Stickers of the \u2018Jesus Priskus\u2019 meme were plastered all over London when the striker played for Djurg\u00e5rden against Chelsea in the Europa Conference League semi-finals in May.<\/p>\n

At that point, Priske only had two league goals to his name. Then came the mid-season break, followed by a goal-scoring explosion \u2013 16 goals in 18 league games \u2013 that transformed Priske from cult-hero to Djurg\u00e5rden icon.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a lot of clubs it\u2019s about the attitude that you show. Some players are good, some are less good, but one of the things that fans enjoy \u2013 as I did when I was younger \u2013 is the attitude of players. You can tell they wanted to be there and wanted to do everything that was possible for the team to win.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is what you have to do. It\u2019s not something I seek (adulation), but it\u2019s something that\u2019s nice when it happens.\u201d<\/p>\n

Priske thanked Djurg\u00e5rden supporters with a trademark celebration \u2013 by rubbing his fingers together with his arms outstretched \u2013when he plundered goal after goal. With that in mind, the final question is: will we see it?<\/p>\n

\u201cI doubt it. It was a Sweden thing. They started the Jesus Priskus thing, so it was more of a way to show them I appreciated it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not Jesus here yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

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