The East Midlands boy-wonder is reportedly being watched by Premier League clubs.
Oliver Burke has started this season on fire
Nottingham Forest haven’t got too much right on the field over the last few years, suffering disappointment after disappointment as managers come and go.
But there is one exception to that general rule, and that is the Nigel Doughty Academy.
Forest are increasingly seeing the spine of their first team being formed around young players, with players like Ben Osborn, Jamaal Lascelles and Karl Darlow the most prominent names to make the grade in more recent times, whilst new faces like Matty Cash, Alex Iacovitti and Tyler Walker are all future names set to make their mark with the Reds.
But the academy’s latest star offering, Oliver Burke, could be the best yet.
There is a lot of excitement at the City Ground surrounding the young 19 year old. Having burst onto the scene over the past year, Burke has since gone on to earn his first international cap with Scotland, and he is now comfortably regarded as one of the club’s best players.
A real tour-de-force of a player, Burke is renowned for his direct running, great pace and imposing strength, combined to make a forward akin to a defender’s worst nightmare.
Could Burke be Scotland’s answer to Gareth Bale?
He’s had comparisons made to Welsh superstar Gareth Bale by his teammates, such as Thomas Lam’s recent quotes in the Nottingham Post,but also from his international manager Gordon Strachan, quoted here in the Mail.
That is a high praise for a second division player, but his performances are beginning to show why. With three goals already this season, surpassing his total from the previous year after just four games, it looks as though Burke has taken his game to the next level.
And unsurprisingly, Premier League clubs are circling, with Sunderland said to be monitoring his progress as reported by HITC Sport last week.
Nevertheless, Burke would be better of staying at Forest, should he wish to become the star that many believe he will be.
There are three central reasons for this, and the first of these is the new Reds manager, Philippe Montanier.
Montanier is the ideal manager to have in charge of a young, potentially superstar talent. The Frenchman was in charge of Real Sociedad from 2011-2013, a club which boasted its own homegrown talent – Antoine Griezmann.
Montanier has experience working with young talents
As Montanier told the Nottingham Post, Griezmann did not move clubs until the age of 24, after spending his formative years in San Sebastian, establishing himself as one of La Liga’s brightest prospects. In the process he helped take Montanier’s side, incredibly, into the Champions League.
Montanier has pedigree with young players and that should be a main sticking point for Burke before considering parting ways with the City Ground. Griezmann is of course not the only player the Frenchman has helped, for only last season, it was his decision to pick Ousmane Dembele, the young former Stade Rennais sensation, that helped the young star earn a move to Borussia Dortmund.
Secondly, leaving too early could backfire on the youngster if he is not ready to assume the mantle of a top player. Indeed, he will not want to follow in the footsteps of Karl Darlow and Jamaal Lascelles, both of whom were key players at the City Ground, and find himself back in the Championship with a club that constantly teeters on the edge like Sunderland.
Darlow and Lascelles have both now established themselves on Tyneside but they have done so at a club that is now back where they started, and it is only now that their value is truly being appreciated.
Karl Darlow has only recently become Newcastle’s number one
They joined Newcastle as young players who were always going to struggle to establish themselves in a division where money is a king, and replacements for first team players are easier bought than entrusted to youngsters.
For Burke, it is essential that he players regularly, and this is the third reason why he must stay.
Montanier himself alluded to this point about game-time, which he won’t get so readily in the top flight at his current level. But why this is so important, is that he needs to know how to be a top player.
To be the best player in any side requires a different mindset and a different skill-set. You need to be able to perform under greater pressure, you need to be able to perform consistently, and sometimes, you may have to carry the team forward on your own.
In order to be a top player elsewhere, Burke needs to know what it is to be a top player at Forest. Gaining the experience of being a player who can be relied upon in every situation, becoming the go-to man for any manager, is the key for a great player in one division moving on to become a great player at a higher level.
Burke only made 18 appearances in the Championship last season and hardly any of them were from a starting position. Whilst he has exploded out of the traps this term, he needs time to learn what it means to be a player of the highest calibre with Forest, before moving to another club to assume the same role at a higher level.
Antoine Griezmann playing for Real Sociedad
Montanier’s previous star apprentice, Antoine Griezmann, poignantly illustrates this by way of example.
Burke undoubtedly is an incredible talent with exceptional potential. But this has to be nurtured in the right way if he wants to be Scotland’s answer to Gareth Bale, and for now, that means staying at Nottingham Forest.
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