Kris Commons shares what his ex-Forest friend has told him about Oliver Burke

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Celtic have managed to bring in West Brom winger Oliver Burke on loan.

Pundit Kris Commons has told the Daily Mail’s The Verdict (p20), 07/01/2019) that one of his old friends at Nottingham Forest compared Celtic new boy Oliver Burke to Gareth Bale.

Having lost 1-0 to Rangers in their final game of 2018, it’s imperative that Celtic make additions to their squad in this month’s transfer window in order to keep hold of their Scottish Premiership title.

Celtic certainly need attacking reinforcements, and made their second signing of the January transfer window just minutes ago having landed Timothy Weah on loan from Paris Saint-Germain.

The first January signing was confirmed on Saturday, as Celtic tied up a deal for West Bromwich Albion winger Burke, taking him on loan for the rest of the season.

Burke, 21, has struggled for playing time this season, playing just 46 minutes of Championship action across three substitute appearances under Darren Moore.

The former RB Leipzig man remains the most expensive Scottish footballer of all-time, but needs to get his career back on track after two disappointing moves since leaving Nottingham Forest in 2016.

Now, ex-Celtic man and current pundit Commons has suggested that Burke can be the latest Scottish player to improve under Brendan Rodgers, adding that one of his old friends at Forest compared Burke to Gareth Bale thanks to his blistering pace and physicality – but Rodgers needs to get the best out of him to embrace that talent he has.

“Brendan Rodgers has a proven track record of improving young players – Kieran Tierney, Callum McGregor, Stuart Armstrong, James Forrest – and there’s no reason why Burke shouldn’t join that list,” said Commons.

”A friend of mine who I used to work at Forest actually likened Burke to Gareth Bale in terms of just his raw pace and physicality. We’ve yet to see the best of him. But Rodgers might just be the perfect manager to get a tune out of him and help him realise his potential,” he added.