OPINION
Celtic can play a blinder if they manage to sign Oliver Burke from West Brom in the January transfer window after the Baggies reportedly made the Scotland international available.
According to the Daily Mail in their live transfer blog on Monday [11:34am], Celtic have approached West Brom with an enquiry about Burke, 21, as the Championship club are willing to let him leave The Hawthorns just 18 months after signing him from RB Leipzig for £15million.
The Express has also reported that Hoops chief scout Lee Congerton is a huge fan of the ex-RB Leipzig forward after previously trying to sign him before he joined Albion from the German outfit in 2017.
Brendan Rodgers clearly needs to add some extra depth to his attacking options this month and Burke represents someone who is versatile enough to provide cover in a couple of key positions if needed.
He is not in the picture at West Brom right now with Darren Moore overlooking most of the young talent that his squad has to offer, and it is always going to be hard for the former Nottingham Forest ace to play ahead of the likes of Dwight Gayle, Jay Rodriguez and Matt Phillips.
Burke can play up front, which is one of the main reasons why Rodgers would be onto a winner if he signed him up this month.
Odsonne Edouard is the only available forward in the senior squad right now and Burke could be a very good back-up option for the Frenchman.
The Baggies outcast could also be a solid back-up for James Forrest should he ever get injured with Jonny Hayes and Lewis Morgan yet to be fully trusted by Rodgers.
Burke has shown in his fledgling career that he has the ability to become one of Scotland’s top players.
He showed glimpses of that at Forest and Leipzig but hasn’t been handed enough chances to impress at West Brom.
His career could really take off at Celtic Park and in a few years’ time, we could be talking about the forward being worth double what he cost the Baggies 18 months ago.