Montanier: ‘Mistake’ for Forest to let Burke leave

FORMER Nottingham Forest manager Philippe Montanier has suggested it was a “mistake” for Oliver Burke to leave the Reds during his time in charge.

Nigel Doughty Academy product Burke attracted much interest after breaking into the Reds first-team in 2014.

He went on to make 31 appearances in the Garibaldi, scoring 18 goals, before being sold by thenowner Fawaz Al Hasawi to RB Leipzig for £13m in the summer of 2016.

Montanier had barely been at the helm a couple of months when the deal went through and has been reflecting on the winger’s career since then.

Burke struggled to make an impact in Germany and made the switch to West Bromwich Albion 12 months later. Regular game time still proved hard to come by, with loan spells at Celtic and Alaves before signing for Sheffield United in September.

Speaking about transfer business, Montainer, now manager at Standard Liege, told Het Laatste Nieuws, via Sport Witness: “I think they are often mistaken, yes. Only the financial proposals of the big clubs are sometimes so interesting. Also for the parents.

“At Nottingham Forest, I worked with Oliver Burke. A great talent. Suddenly all the planet wanted him. Oliver said to me, ‘I’ll stay’.

“Until one day I got a phone call: ‘Coach, sorry, but I’m on a plane (to Leipzig).

“With this contract, I can secure the future of my family. ‘

“But look at the evolution of his career. I always take the example of Zinedine Zidane.

“He made his Cannes debut, went to Bordeaux and when he was an adult player he moved to Juventus. Real Madrid followed later.

“He did it step by step and patiently. Do you know what to do? Map all young Belgian football players who left abroad at a young age.

“For the three or four who have passed, there are 50 that you will not hear from anymore.”