‘Find a home’ – Ex-West Brom boss urges forgotten man to leave Albion this summer
Scotland manager Steve Clarke has urged Oliver Burke to leave West Brom this summer to “find a home” at a new club.
The attacker has struggled to make an impact at The Hawthorns since signing from RB Leipzig in 2017, and has spent loan spells with Celtic and Spanish outfit Alaves.
In recent days it has been reported that he could be involved in a swap deal that would see Sheffield United forward Callum Robinson return to Albion after his loan spell at the club last season.
And Clarke, who spent a stint as the Baggies’ boss himself, has urged him to move on this summer.
As quoted by the Daily Record, he said: “What Oli needs is to find a home. He has been drifting around from club to club, going here and there.
“But he needs a manager who loves him and a club he can call home. When he gets all that, he will improve and get better. He’s still a young man and hasn’t many international caps.
“Sometimes the pressure is to push these players but it takes time to step up, get used to the international environment and find confidence at that level. I think confidence is a big factor with Oli. He’s a confidence player.
“He’s got loads of money, he’s made the big moves and has that in the bank now. When you get to that level, if you want to be a top player, you stop thinking about money and start thinking about performances.”
We couldn’t agree with Clarke more on this one.
Burke has been a costly flop for the Baggies, and the sizeable transfer fee that the club paid for him has never been even remotely justified.
Loans with Celtic and Alaves have failed to coax his best form out of him and at some point West Brom are going to have to cut their losses and let the player walk away.
If, however, he could be used as ballast in a deal to bring Robinson back to the Hawthorns this summer, that would surely have to be seen as a best case scenario by Slaven Bilic’s men.
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