I’M NO FAILURE AND I’LL PROVE IT NOW AT WBA
£15m Burke relishing his new chance with Moore
WHEN Oliver Burke says the last two years haven’t panned out as he’d planned, it is difficult to disagree.
In August 2016, the teenager was being touted as the next Gareth Bale. Already possessor of a full cap for Scotland, the winger opened the season with four goals in five games for Nottingham Forest, each a man-of-the-match display.
Pace, power, a hulking 6ft 2ins physique. Reds fans were in raptures; here was one of their own, a kid they’d nurtured from the age of eight poised to decimate the division.
Then Red Bull Leipzig lodged a £13m bid and everything changed. In the blink of an eye, Forest had lost their best player and a beacon of hope. Burke, meanwhile, was transformed from an exciting prospect to the most expensive footballer in Scottish history.
Ralf Rangnick, the Leipzig sporting director, was convinced he’d signed a star. “I started watching videos of his games at Forest and after five minutes I said ‘Yes, this is the player we need’,” said the German, who fought off competition from Tottenham and Manchester United. “He was a force of nature.”
Yet Burke would spend just one season in Saxony, watching from the bench while fellow new boys Bernardo and Naby Keita blossomed into elite players.
Leipzig complained of tactical limitations, an “empty hard-drive” when it came to pressing from the front.
Frustration
In August 2017, they accepted a £15m bid from West Brom, but the move brought only similar frustration for Burke. At one stage last season, he was turning out for the U23s.
Now, following the Baggies’ relegation, the 21-year-old is back where he started: in the Championship, with it all to prove.
Doesn’t he wish he’d just stayed here in the first place?
“That depends,” says Burke, whose winning goal against Luton in this week’s Carabao Cup clash was his first in West Brom colours.
“In one sense, I can’t say I’d turn the clock back at all. For me, things happen for a reason. And going to Germany, living in a different culture – I’m 21 and I’ve had experiences that most people will never have in their life. It was amazing.
“But if we’re talking purely about game-time, about being out on the field and getting minutes then, yeah – I’d rather have been playing every week.”
Burke is honest about his tactical short-comings. On his arrival in Leipzig, he recalls thinking that his new teammates “looked like Forest U16s”– only to reappraise when both they and the ball started zipping around at a fearsome pace.
An inability to speak German didn’t help him get up to speed, but Burke insists it was not a major issue.
“You just adapt to the training sessions,” he explains. “Even if you don’t understand the words, you understand what’s going on and see what the coach is trying to do. You learn to see all the patterns.
“Socially, certain players can only speak a little bit of English, so there were groups I couldn’t really talk to. But I bonded with most of them and there were never any problems in that sense.
“At the start, it feels a bit scary. But you adapt, you make friends, get used it. And before long, it becomes a little bit like home. I never felt isolated.”
Nor, says Burke, did that hefty fee weigh heavily on his young shoulders.
“The move happened so quickly – literally hours after my final game for Forest – that I didn’t have a clue about the fee,” he recalls.
Failure
“I was looking round the facilities, trying to take everything in, speaking to the coaches. I didn’t actually know how much I’d gone for until I saw it on twitter.
“It’s a big figure, and a big change in your status. But, at the same time, it’s happening more and more. Young players get snapped up, the money is going wild. You can’t let it faze you and I don’t think I did.”
So what did go wrong? Or does Burke feel that he has been unfairly branded a failure since leaving Forest?
“A lot of people have said that it hasn’t worked out, or that I’ve
failed,” he says. “And yeah, it’s not gone how I planned. What I would say is that the opportunity hasn’t been there to succeed.
“Germany was honestly a great experience. I was learning a new style of football, working with top players and coaches.
“Unfortunately for me, the team was doing really well. They finished second in the Bundesliga that year and were never going to change the team. I just didn’t get the minutes to show what I had learned.
“Deep down, you always believe you’re good enough. But that’s always going to ebb away a bit when you don’t play for so long. You haven’t been out there, you’re not sharp. I think that probably affected me when I came to West Brom.
“Then there was all the chopping and changing of managers. But that’s football. I’m still young, I’ve still got a lot of time on my hands to change perceptions. And, like I say, it’s down to getting time on the pitch.
“Without that, I can’t prove anything. At this moment, all I want is the chance to show what I’m capable of.”
Baggies boss Darren Moore praised Burke’s “patience and perseverance” after the victory over Luton and has backed the youngster, who he played up front against the Hatters, to make an impact this term. If Burke has his way, that will mean an instant return to the Premier League.
“It’s not a great feeling getting relegated from the Premier League, but there’s no hangover,” he says. “It’s a great group, really close-knit. We call ourselves a family.
“We’ve got a lot of new players, a new system. Everybody needs to get used to it and I think that’s been reflected in our results. “But once we click, I don’t think there’ll be any stopping us. With the talent we have and the personalities here, I really don’t see why we can’t get back up.”