OPINION
Many Celtic fans will be confident that the best is yet to come from attacker Oliver Burke after Alex McLeish raved about the player’s potential.
The 21-year-old forward joined the Hoops on loan from West Bromwich Albion in January and it’s been a bit of a mixed bag for him so far.
While Burke has wowed in games against the likes of St Mirren and St Johnstone, he looked completely out of his depth and absolutely lost when facing Valencia.
However while his display against the Spanish giants would have left some Hoops fans at the very least doubting his ability, McLeish’s verdict on the player will no doubt have them believing that they haven’t seen Burke at his best.
The Scotland manager was asked about Burke potentially representing his nation in the next bout of international fixtures and didn’t hold back from going in to detail about his thoughts on the player.
“Against teams who play a high line, Burke – with his pace – is certainly one of those players who could harm them,” said McLeish, as quoted by the Daily Record.
“I can see him in any of the front roles because of his versatility. You look at Liverpool’s front three, where Sadio Mane can play wide or through the middle.
“If you have players who can do that then you can use them anywhere. But especially against opponents who use that high line, there could be a place for him there.
“He has a lot to give. When I got in that maturity spell, when you get to 28, 29, 30 it’s experience you can rely on.
“But confidence is a big factor – if Oli can do what he has started off doing at Celtic then it can only be good for us.”
McLeish’s verdict on Burke highlights two important factors, he points out how experience will only improve him and that confidence is potentially key.
While Celtic have to send the 21-year-old back to the Baggies in the summer, he will no doubt improve quickly from the experience he has already picked up at the club in order to show an improvement before that situation occurs.
This is especially the case when you consider that previously he had gone a large period of time just getting a handful of minutes, so needed time to readjust to playing regular senior football first and foremost.
Also while he doesn’t directly compare the players, McLeish using a player who is the calibre of Liverpool’s Sadio Mane to show the type of player Burke could emulate will surely excite fans.
The Reds attacker gets switched around the front three at Anfield regularly and benefits as a result, whereas so far due to a lack of options Rodgers hasn’t been allowed to give Burke this level of freedom as much as he would no doubt have liked to.
More often than not Burke has been utilised as a central forward and given his lack of experience in that role, it’s still one he is coming to grips with and still learning how to successfully pull off.
Therefore following McLeish’s endorsement it’s very likely Celtic could see an even better version of the player in the games that remain.