John Hartson appeared pleasantly stunned by how fast Celtic attacker Oliver Burke was in the 5-0 win over St Johnstone on Sunday.
The former Hoops forward shared that he thought the 21-year-old, who is on loan from West Bromwich Albion, was one of the quickest in Europe based on what he saw against St Johnstone.
Hartson complimented several areas of Burke’s game, highlighting his tremendous power as well as his creative vision, when raving about him following Celtic’s latest win.
“I thought he had an outstanding day, no goals but he assisted two, his running off the ball and his movement, he just has got tremendous power and I knew he was quick but I didn’t realise he was one of the quickest in Europe,” said Hartson on Premier Sports, as seen in a clip on the broadcaster’s Twitter account.
“That is great praise from his manager who sees him every day in training but look at him there, getting away from centre-backs, again that was Christie who took his shot earlier, look at him winning fouls for his team.
“And his assists, this is brilliant, this is fantastic, it’s great vision and y’know he puts it on a plate for Sinclair, so I was very very very impressed by him today.”
OPINION
Burke has been a breath of fresh air since arriving from West Bromwich Albion on loan and Celtic supporters should just appreciate him while he is at the club. The 21-year-old may have struggled to get playing time at WBA before joining the Hoops on loan, but if he continues progressing in the way he seems to be at Celtic since joining, his bright future will definitely look like happening at the Hawthorns. While Hartson has gone a little over the top to say the least with his “among the quickest in Europe remark”, the rest of his praise for Burke is justified. The 21-year-old may not have scored against St Johnstone, but his assists were important and showed off how he cam create easy chances for his teammates to convert. Hopefully Burke is able to keep up his immense form for Celtic in the coming weeks as he could be an important player for him. While Burke did appear to pick up a knock on Sunday as well, Brendan Rodgers will be crossing his fingers that it’s nothing serious.