Moore: Burke still has a future with Baggies

ALBION boss Darren Moore has confirmed that Oliver Burke ‘absolutely’ has a future at the club and expects him to return in the summer following his loan spell at Celtic.

Burke signed for the Baggies for £15 million in 2017 but has failed to break into the side and was sent to Parkhead to find first-team opportunities.

The 21-year-old recently expressed his desire to stay in Glasgow with Brendan Rogers’ side, saying: “I’m really happy here and if I’m enjoying my football then I want to stay.

“It’s obviously an amazing club to be at, the fans are great, we have a great manager so what’s not to love?”

However, Moore has said there is nothing in the agreement between the two clubs that means Burke is set to stay in Scotland.

Moore said: “Not that I know of, no; if there is it’s something between

Celtic and our board of directors.

“As far as we are concerned, we sent Oli up there to get some games, to play at a level that we thought was right for him.

“We couldn’t have thought of anywhere better for him, the opportunity of Celtic coming in for him and working under the manager up there, that would help him develop to get him to where we think he should be.

“He is a young player that the football club has invested in, he is a West Bromwich Albion player and until told otherwise, the agreement is he goes up there on loan in an idea of playing games.

“Hopefully we get him back in the summer and see a more rounded Oli Burke because of the matches he has played.

“If that happens it’s a massive tick for us, a massive tick for Celtic and a massive tick for Oli Burke.”

Meanwhile, former Albion loanee Harvey Barnes has been backed to go ‘all the way’ by Moore.

Moore spoke of the satisfaction he still gains from the development of the Leicester City winger who returned to the Foxes last month.

“We are just delighted, when I saw him in the team last weekend in the team against Manchester United it’s the kind of things that dreams are made of,” Moore said.

“For us to be able to give him the platform to perform, and he performed very, very well; just shows the levels he has grown in a short space of time.

“We should all feel proud here at West Brom giving him that development and I’m sure he will be forever indebted to the football club.”