He moved abroad as a teenager but has failed to live up to potential.
Last season, Nottingham Forest returned to the Premier League for the first time since 1999.
Forest have reestablished themselves in the top flight under the direction of Steve Cooper.
Following a 16th-place finish to assure survival, The Garibaldi’s will attempt to build on that in order to achieve a third consecutive season in the world’s most profitable league.
Their current fortunes are a vast cry from where they were less than a decade ago.
In 2016, the club was languishing in the Championship, towards the bottom of the table. It would take them six years to find the man who would bring them back to the promised land.
The lofty heights of the Premier League seemed a long way away. But it wasn’t all bad news at the City Ground.
One young talent had climbed through the ranks and captured everyone’s attention. He has so much talent that his international manager compared him to Gareth Bale.
Oliver Burke is the man in question.
When did Oliver Burke make his debut for Nottingham Forest?
In 2014, the Scottish attacker made his debut for the East Midlands club. At the time, he was the sixth-youngest player to ever play for the first team, despite being only 17 years old. He is now ranked seventh on that list.
His appearances were sporadic in his first season. In the 2015/16 season, he began earning more regular playing time. He finished the season with 21 games in all competitions for Forest, scoring twice.
He also made his international debut since then, coming off the bench for Scotland in a 1-0 victory over Denmark.
The player seemed to have the world at his feet. Interested parties included Manchester United and Bayern Munich. It appeared that bigger things were on the horizon.
He began the 2016/17 campaign still at Forest, and he started with a bang. Four goals in five league games indicated that he was ready to take the next step.
His destination would be Germany. However, it wouldn’t be for the Bavarians.
Who signed Oliver Burke from Nottingham Forest?
Burke left the side whose academy he had risen through the ranks of to join RB Leipzig for £13m.
The deal saw him become the most expensive Scottish player in history and a lot was expected from the starlet.
His reason for joining the German side was that he believed he would receive more game time than at some of the other giants who were linked with his signature.
Former Man United boss Ralf Rangnick, who was the sporting director for Leipzig at the time of the deal, was pleased with the signing. “He is an outstanding talent with an awful lot of potential,” he remarked. “He fits with the high pace and style of play very well and will make his next sporting development step with us.”
More eyes were on Burke now that he was playing in Germany’s top division. UEFA included him in their ‘weekly wonderkid’ series.
The report included a number of audacious assertions, including one from Scottish scout Mick Elliot, who stated Burke “will be as big as Kenny Dalglish.” And Kenny was my hero, so you can tell how I feel about Ollie.”
The adventure in Germany for the man called “the next King Kenny” ended as swiftly as it began.
After 26 games and one goal for Leipzig, it was determined that Burke was not performing at the level expected of him.
One year on, the Scot was shipped back to England. The saving grace was that he wasn’t returning to the Championship. He was headed to the Premier League.
Which Premier League team did Burke join?
Burke joined West Bromwich Albion in 2017. Despite not making a great impression in Germany, belief in his potential was such that Leipzig still managed to make a profit on the player, selling him for £15m.
Despite having the opportunity to feature in the Champions League, Burke opted for the move with aspirations of first-team football.
In a club statement, the 6-foot-2 forward said:
“I feel like it is time for me to move on and play more games. I’m here, I want to impress, and I want my name to be first on the team sheet.”
Manager Tony Pulis also believed that the player was ready for more first-team football, remarking:
“He’s already got good experience from playing at Forest and now the added taste of figuring in a team which finished second in the Bundesliga.”
Burke’s life lessons abroad may have been what he needed to kickstart his career in the direction of superstardom.
That’s not quite what happened though.
Burke played just 357 minutes that season for The Baggies across 16 games. He registered no goals or assists.
Later, Burke would say that he didn’t feel comfortable at the Hawthorns, telling the Daily Mail:
“When I was at West Brom I felt very left out.”
Two moves that were engineered in order to give Burke the most amount of game time had failed. Now began a litany of loan spells to see if the Scot could recapture the magic.
Who did Burke play for on loan?
While still contracted to West Brom, Burke had two loan spells. One in Spain with Alaves and another in his native Scotland with Celtic.
| Oliver Burke’s loan spells away from the Hawthorns, via Transfermarkt | ||
| Club | Appearances | Goals & Assists |
| Alaves | 36 | 1 & 2 |
| Celtic | 19 | |
The Spanish team did everything they could to make the Scottish international feel at ease, teaming him with their Scottish groundsman.
However, their efforts did not provide great results, with the player scoring just once in 36 games.
After experiencing some of the world’s top leagues, his transfer to Celtic was almost the final straw. He was expected to be a top-tier player in the division.
He was able to achieve the best numbers of his career to date with 7 goal contributions in 19 games. But, that was still nowhere near where he was expected to be.
The most damning criticism of Burke came following a poor performance in an Old Firm derby against Rangers.
Former Celtic player Frank McAvennie labelled the ex-Forest player’s performance as “a disgrace.”
“I thought for somebody, he is going to leave at the end of the season, and that’s one of the biggest games in the world, and you don’t show there.”
The disappointment from McAvennie mirrored that which had followed Burke ever since he emerged on the scene in Nottingham as a teenager.
At this point, the jig was up. It seemed that the former ‘wonderkid’ was never going to reach the ceiling that many predicted for him.
Where is Burke now?
Burke stats since 20/21
| Oliver Burke stats since 2020/21, via Transfermarkt | ||
|---|---|---|
| Club | Appearances | Goals & Assists |
| Sheffield United | 36 | 2 & 1 |
| Millwall* | 31 | 4 & 3 |
| Werder Bremen | 19 | 2 & 1 |
| Birmingham City | ||
Since his time at the Hawthorns, Burke has made several moves. A permanent switch to Sheffield United offered the forward another chance at Premier League football.
He returned to Germany to join Werder Bremen, with loan moves to Millwall sandwiched either side of this.
The 6 foot 2 dynamo’s most recent excursion has seen him join Birmingham City on loan during deadline day this summer
Throughout his career, Burke has failed to score more goals for any club than he did as a teenager for Nottingham Forest.
To highlight his downfall, a player that was once bought for £13m, he is now worth just £2m – an 85% decrease on what the Reds let him go for all those years ago and having failed to live up to his early-career promise, it’s clear that the recruitment hierarchy at the City Ground allowed the club to hit the jackpot on this occasion.
