Will half a season out on loan help Oliver Burke get his career back on track?
The Premier League is all about the hustle and the bustle that involves pace, strength and intensity. Speaking of these qualities, West Brom winger Oliver Burke is one to look out for. He first started off at Nottingham Forest as a promising teenager that was labelled “The next Gareth Bale” due to his sheer speed, tenacity and penchant for terrorizing opposition defences. After decent success there, he was linked with moves to the Premier League, but nothing came of it.
Surprisingly he moved to the Red Bull Franchise owned RB Leipzig in Germany, who were just promoted from the Bundesliga second division. The move was met with shocking glances as it’s not every day that you see a promising Brit move outside the United Kingdom. Much to the dismay of Burke and his followers back home, he failed to make a telling impression in the Bundesliga club although they finished an impressive second in the table behind league leaders Bayern Munich.
He made only 5 starts and 20 appearances off the bench as Coach Ralph Hasenhuttl saw it fit to play the likes of Marcel Sabitzer and Emil Forsberg ahead of him. The same struggles have continued at The Hawthorns as he has been unable to establish himself as one of the first-teamers in a side that currently find themselves in 19th spot.
Having cost 15 million pounds, Burke was expected to produce a lot more than he has. He is excellent at hugging the touchline or coming inside as he has a lot of running power which helps him make lung-busting runs. At Nottingham, he had shown considerable shooting prowess too, but that has gone amiss ever since he moved away from the City Ground.
Under Tony Pulis, Burke was never given much of a chance as the Welsh manager liked to deploy a system with wing-backs which allowed for him to give Burke chances only as a late cameo. With Matt Phillips and Allan Nyom being preferred, he never really got much of a chance to prove himself. When Pardew was instilled as the manager, there was hope for the wingers on the team as he likes deploying a 4-4-2 system that involves the use of out and out service minded wingers who are also capable of scoring themselves.
On his first start for the club against Manchester United, he lasted 64 minutes on the pitch and impressed to a large extent, first starting out on the wing and then playing as a second striker. Manager Pardew was impressed although the team lacked any kind of spirit on the day, Burke showed a lot of promise with sites like https://www.unibet.com.au/betting, you can bet on talents like Burke to grow big.
But that high was met with a low as 3 game weeks later, when he was thrust onto the scene against West Ham as a late substitute with the score at 1-1, Burke made a huge blunder in the 94th minute as he gave away the ball in the opposition area, which lead to a Hammers counterattack that lead to an Andy Carroll goal ultimately headlining a 2-1 defeat for The Baggies.
There are suggestions that he could be farmed out on loan to a Championship club that are keen on giving him minutes on the pitch. Still only 20, Burke has plenty of time on his hands to fulfil his potential. As he recently stated, he just needs minutes on the pitch to prove himself. If he can get it together, we might as well have a fantastic player on our hands. With The Baggies in deep trouble and in search of January acquisitions, it is obvious that Burke will be put on the shop-loan market and the club with the right kind of bait could hook up with the Scotsman.