Timothy Weah and Oliver Burke arrived at Scottish Premiership champions Celtic in the January transfer window.
Two new signings made their competitive debuts for Celtic in the 3-0 Scottish Cup victory Aidrieonians at the weekend.
And, while Timothy Weah made a fine first impression, scoring just 15 minutes after coming off the bench, Oliver Burke struggled to show his quality in an unfamiliar centre forward role.
Speaking to the Evening Times, Celtic great John Hartson has offered his assessment of Weah’s and Burke’s performances, and it is fair to say the latter has a long way to go before he can win over the former Wales striker.
“I think you could see the lift that Timothy Weah gave the team and that is exactly what can happen when you bring fresh legs in,” Hartson said of the 18-year-old PSG loanee, before turning to Burke.
“I thought that Oliver Burke struggled to impose himself in that striker’s role at the weekend.
“I saw a fair bit of Burke when he was just starting out in his career and his best position is driving forward from the middle. He is far more effective there rather than with his back to goal. He has pace and he has power and if you get him running at people then he will cause problems.
“But it is early days for him.”
Burke arrived at Celtic on loan from West Brom for the rest of the season with a big reputation. He cost the Baggies a club-record £15 million when he moved to The Hawthorns from RB Leipzig in the summer of 2017 (the Guardian), although his time in the Midlands has been little more than a write-off so far.
The Scotland international, who started his career with Nottingham Forest, will be hoping to get his career back on track north of the border.
And he could do worse than taking a leaf out of Weah’s book, with the USA international already establishing himself as a fan favourite.
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