Former Celtic star and Scotland coach Mark McGhee has tipped winger Oliver Burke to make a Premier League level impact on the Hoops during his spell on loan from West Bromwich Albion.
The club confirmed on Saturday that Burke has joined Brendan Rodgers’ first-team squad until the summer and will immediately join up with his teammates for the upcoming winter training camp in Dubai.
The 21-year-old has had a high profile beginning to his career, breaking the transfer record for a Scottish footballer twice already with moves to RB Leipzig and West Brom.
On the pitch he’s struggled to back up his large transfer fees with consistent contributions, but McGhee reckons he still has the ability to play a big role for Celtic.
As quoted by The Daily Mail, the 61-year-old said:
I am still in absolutely no doubts over his ability or potential.
This could be a good move for him because I think he is more than capable of performing at that level – he is potentially capable of performing in the English Premier League too, given his athletic ability, his skill and his speed in particular.
If somebody can harness it they have a sensational player on their hands.
We’ve seen the manager work his magic before on low-confidence players and you would suspect that the reason for Burke’s tough spell at West Brom is because of that, rather than lack of ability.
A lot of pressure has been put on his shoulders at a young age, but at Celtic he has a chance to focus on football without huge expectations, working under an elite coach.
The hope will be that he can hit the ground running and immediately provide competition on both wings, with Scott Sinclair and James Forrest already having to play a lot of games this term, stretching them.
I’m looking forward to his debut, to see what he can do.