McBURNIE IS MAKING WAVES WITH SWANS
SCOTLAND Under-21 striker Ollie McBurnie could be set to make his English Premier League bow against champions Leicester City this weekend after netting a double on his Swansea City debut. The 20-year-old scored twice on his first start for the Welsh outfit at Peterborough United in the League Cup on Tuesday night, with fellow Scot Jay Fulton grabbing the other goal in a 3-1 win. Swansea have just splashed out £15million for Atletico Madrid striker Borja Baston, but the Spaniard won’t play against Claudio Ranieri’s side on Saturday because of a thigh strain. Manager Francesco Guidolin could now turn to McBurnie, who is set to team up with Hibs star Jason Cummings for the Under 21s doubleheader against Macedonia and Ukraine, and make him the latest Scot to play in England’s top flight. Guidolin said: ‘I am very happy for Ollie. He is improving all the time. He has been working with us for the first time over the last two months and he has done well. ‘He is a clever player, a good young player who, like Jay Fulton, is working very hard and very well and players like this are important for our football club. ‘He is working hard and this game was important for a lot of reasons. ‘It’s important to go forward in this competition and for me to learn more about some players.’ McBurnie, who moved to Wales last summer after starting his career at Bradford City, was delighted to hit a brace on his maiden appearance for the club. ‘As debuts go, it’s not too bad — but three would have been even better,’ he said. ‘I was happy to be involved in all of the goals and help the team win. It was a good opportunity for me. ‘I’ve been involved a lot in pre-season, while I scored for the Under-23s the other day. I finally got my chance and it was nice to make the most of it. ‘A lot of the boys who haven’t played much felt they had things to prove. ‘It was a good opportunity for those players to impress. ‘Myself and Jay were talking before the game and we said it was imperative that we win because it’s the main source of minutes for us. ‘The further we get in this competition, hopefully the more minutes we get.’