Oliver Burke reminded West Bromwich Albion fans of his quality while on international duty.
When West Brom signed Oliver Burke for £15 million last summer – fee reported by BBC Sport – he probably would not have expected to finish the campaign with just two Premier League starts under his belt as part of a side that was going to be playing Championship football next season.
In truth, if Burke left The Hawthorns this summer, he would have to be considered a transfer flop – though much of the blame for that fact could not be placed on the player as he initially struggled with injury and never seemed to get a fair chance under Tony Pulis or Alan Pardew.
For example, he provided a superb cross for Salomon Rondon to score West Brom’s goal in their defeat to Leicester City in March and was then an unused substitute the following week.
If there is one player in West Brom’s squad who may actually benefit from relegation therefore, it is arguably Burke – who would have reminded West Brom fans on his quality with his goal in Scotland’s under-21 win over France in the Toulon Tournament.
Burke has all the talent to become a star in the Championship next season. He had already established himself as a key man for Nottingham Forest before moving to RB Leipzig, and it seems fair to predict that Forest would be significantly closer to securing promotion if they had never sold the winger.
Burke has the trickery and pace to make a devastating impact in the second tier and inspire the team to make their top flight exile very brief indeed, especially as the side go into the new campaign with a lot of confidence and momentum in spite of finishing bottom of the table.
It appears from the outside that Burke’s form this past season is probably not going to leave the club facing a battle to keep him, but it should surprise few if Burke has established himself as the side’s talisman next season and done more than anyone to inspire them towards promotion.
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