Exclusive: Phillips says attacker could leave West Brom and return to PL in future
We’re delighted to welcome former West Brom striker Kevin Phillips as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at The Hawthorns…
Kevin Phillips has tipped West Brom attacker Oliver Burke to continue his development outside of the UK after being linked with a permanent move to Spain.
Burke, 23, joined Alaves on a season-long loan in the summer and although he’s only started seven La Liga matches since that move, Spanish newspaper AS reports that Alaves are considering a permanent deal in the summer.
West Brom signed Burke from RB Leipzig for £15million in June but the attacker has since struggled in the West Midlands and had loan spells at Celtic and Alaves.
He clearly isn’t someone who minds moving around different clubs and different countries so Phillips reckons he could find a place to shine one day in the future and perhaps even return to the Premier League.
“He obviously doesn’t mind playing abroad. Living away doesn’t seem to bother him,” Phillips told West Brom News. “Maybe that will help his development.
“You might see him back in the Premier League later on in his career when he’s developed a bit more.”
It is hard to see Burke being signed by a Premier League club any time soon but we have seen time and time again that some players can be late developers.
We hope Burke can fall into that category if it benefits the Baggies.
Maybe they’ll try to get a buy-back clause or a percentage of his next sale clause included in a potential permanent transfer to Alaves.
In other West Brom news, Ally Robertson is thrilled by the EFL’s most recent update.