EASY DECISION FOR STRIKER
KEITH JACKSON
CELTIC or Millwall? What sort of Burke asks a question like that?
Scott McDonald might not have used those exact words yesterday but the sentiment was the same.
Having worn both of those shirts during his playing career the little Aussie is well placed to lend Oliver Burke some advice now that the 21-year-old appears to be stuck at a crossroads having lost his way at West Brom.
Head south to the Lions Den or take the long trek north to Paradise.
McDonald laughed and said: “It’s actually a pretty stupid question to be honest with you. There’s only one possible answer to that.
“If the choice is Celtic or Millwall then you pack your boots in your bag and start running up the M6. “I don’t mean that to sound disrespectful to Millwall in any way because it’s a good club but the truth of the matter is they are really struggling this season and in relegation trouble.
“I don’t know what that would do to Oliver Burke’s confidence right now when he’s not been playing a lot of games at West Brom. So from a career point of view it’s a no-brainer.
“Celtic are a team who are going to dominate possession in most of the games they play and that means Oliver will get the chance to get on the ball and get the confidence back into his game.
“It will also give him a far more high-profile platform to perform and improve as a player under a manager like Brendan Rodgers.
“So if you’re asking me what would I do if I was in his shoes, there’s no question about it, it would be Celtic all day long.”
Burke became the most expensive Scottish player of all time, aged just 19, when he left Nottingham Forest for RB Leipzig two-and-a-half years ago for a £13million fee.
He was also fast-tracked into Gordon Strachan’s Scotland squad in the hope he might become this country’s answer to Gareth Bale.
One year later, after failing to nail down regular first-team football in k.jackson@dailyrecord.co.uk Germany and with his star apparently on the decline, West Brom were still keen enough to splash £15m on him and bring him back to the British game.
And now, less than 18 months later, his career is in danger of stalling completely.
McDonald said: “That’s why Millwall would be a step down in terms of his career path.
“From Nottingham Forest to Leipzig then West Brom? If he moves to Millwall it looks as if he’s on a downward trajectory.
“It might be very difficult for him to come back from that unless he puts in an unbelievable six months.
“The one thing he may have to think about though is where he will get more game time.
“He’s going to find it harder to get into the starting XI at Celtic but that’s the kind of challenge a young, talented boy like him should be relishing.
“He’ll have to come up here and be prepared to work hard. To find out where he fits into the team and what’s his best position.
“But if his confidence has taken a bit of a dunt over the last couple of years then Rodgers is the perfect manager for him to work with.
“This is a man with a track record of bringing the best out of individuals when they have maybe been struggling for form.
“If I was Burke I’d be thinking hard about that. Then again, when you’re being offered the chance to play in front of 60,000 fans every other week, for a team that’s still in Europe and to have the chance of winning trophies, what is there to think about?
“Just the fact Brendan wants him should give his confidence a boost. He’s still very young so there’s plenty of time for him to crack it.
“But having burst on to the scene at such a tender age he needs a move like this now to give him a lift and get his career going again.”
Rodgers is scouring Europe and beyond for January targets and, as Record Sport revealed yesterday, one of them, 18-year-old American Timothy Weah, has agreed a loan deal from Paris St Germain.
But McDonald believes Burke might be a better fit.
He added: “He’s an exciting talent. He may still be a little raw but he has power and an abundance of pace and in Scotland pace kills.
“I’d imagine he would be competing against the likes of Scott Sinclair and James Forrest for a place out wide because I don’t see him playing through the middle but then again you never know.
“He has pace to burn so it’s just a matter of finding what his best position is.
“It would certainly be a better acquisition for me than some of the other names Celtic are being linked with.
“He’s Scottish for one so that would be a real positive for the game up here and the national team. He could give Alex McLeish another option to think about. “He also understands British football which is a big advantage. Sometimes you bring foreign players in and it can take them time to get up to speed.
“But if you’re looking at a short-term loan you would ideally be hoping the player in question is ready to hit the ground running.
“There’s definitely a player somewhere in Oliver Burke and if any manager can bring it out of him then it is bound to be Brendan Rodgers.
“If I was Oliver I’d take it as a real honour and a confidence boost someone like Brendan is showing an interest in him.”
SCOTT McDONALD