West Bromwich Albion fans will be dreaming about their side making a long-awaited return to the Premier League at the end of this current season with Carlos Corberan‘s men sitting pretty in second spot in the Championship after four league games played.
Of course, there’s a lot of second-tier action still to come, but the West Midlands side will have high hopes that they can compete for promotion once more, having made the playoffs last campaign under the popular Spaniard’s guidance.
Under Corberan, lavish purchases through the door have been very rare at the Hawthorns, and that would likely remain the case even if promotion was secured, owing to the fact the Baggies have been burnt a lot when it comes to major flops in their not so distant top-flight past.
Oliver Burke’s name, or rather ‘the Scottish Bale’, definitely falls into the high-profile dud category, having cost the Baggies an extortionate £15m back in 2017 as a major statement buy under the up-and-down regime of Tony Pulis.
Oliver Burke’s time at West Brom
Burke never justified that steep price tag when donning a West Brom strip, with the former Scotland international only going on to make 24 first-team appearances for his new club, before leaving for Sheffield United in 2020.
He was even chucked out on loan to the likes of Celtic and Deportivo Alavés in Scotland and Spain to see if he could re-energise his failing career away from England, but it would never see him breathe life back into his cursed spell at the Hawthorns when returning.
Burke would only manage to score one goal for the Baggies, with only three assists too before going on to become a nomad after another forgettable stint unfortunately greeted him at Bramall Lane.
He has since played for the likes of Millwall, Birmingham City and Werder Bremen without ever really fitting in, leading to his transfer value taking a drastic hit, with the days where he was once worth an eye-watering sum of money firmly in the past.
Oliver Burke’s transfer value in 2024
As per Football Transfers, Burke’s value is now way down at a meagre £928k, a far cry from his pomp where he was regarded as an exciting young talent when still on the books of Nottingham Forest.
To add further context, Tom Fellows – who is only into his second full senior campaign donning a Baggies strip – is worth far more at £3.5m, despite only being 21 years of age and still relatively inexperienced.
Yet, Fellows’ three assists from just four Championship games this season to date is only one goal contribution off matching the lacklustre output Burke has managed for Millwall, Werder Bremen and Birmingham from his last 39 competitive games.
Burke’s record since leaving West Brom | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Club | Games | Goals | Assists |
Werder Bremen | 19 | 2 | 1 |
Millwall | 31 | 4 | 3 |
Birmingham | 23 | 0 | 0 |
Sheffield United | 36 | 2 | 1 |
Sourced by Transfermarkt | |||
With his contract up next year at his current employers in Bremen, with zero games handed to him so far during the 24/25 campaign, it looks increasingly likely that the German titans will pull the plug on him staying put when it expires.
It remains to be seen whether Burke would be given another chance to prove himself in the English game – as he is only 27 years of age still – but West Brom supporters won’t hold any fond memories when it comes to the Scottish dud’s time at the Hawthorns.
It’s a sad demise for a star who was expected to go on and become a top talent when emerging through the youth ranks at Forest, but a tale West Brom fans won’t extend much of their sympathy towards.
