He came through the academy at Nottingham Forest, signing a professional contract in September 2014 and making his debut the following February. In August 2016, Burke signed for Bundesliga club RB Leipzig for a reported fee of £13 million, a record fee for a Scottish player.[4] A year later, having helped Leipzig to runners-up position in the league, he returned to England by signing for West Bromwich Albion for a fee of £15 million. Following an unsuccessful few years at West Bromwich Albion, and loan spells at Celtic and Alavés, Burke joined Sheffield United in September 2020 in a swap deal involving Callum Robinson. He played regularly in his first season at Sheffield United, but spent the second half of the next season on loan at Millwall and then returned to German football with Werder Bremen. After half a season, he rejoined Millwall on loan, and 2023 signed for Birmingham City, also on loan.
Club career
Nottingham Forest
Burke was born in Kirkcaldy, Scotland, but grew up in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, England[5] where he joined local club Mowbray Rangers aged eight.[6] After one season at the club, he was scouted to join Nottingham Forest's Academy where he progressed for the next nine years.[7] Burke signed his first professional contract with Nottingham Forest on 19 September 2014,[8] before making his professional debut as an 87th-minute substitute during a 3–1 loss to Tottenham Hotspur on 24 September.[9] He made his league debut on 14 February 2015 as a 64th-minute substitute in a 4–4 draw away to Blackpool.[10]
Burke was sent on a month-long loan to League One club Bradford City on 24 February.[11][12] He made his debut for them on the same day, playing for 75 minutes in a 2–1 loss away to Swindon Town.[13] Burke made another start on 28 February in a 2–0 loss against Peterborough United[14] and appeared twice as an unused substitute before returning to his parent club.[15] After his loan spell at Bradford City came to an end, Burke signed a three-year contract with Forest.[16]
Ahead of the 2015–16 season, Burke signed another three-year contract with the club on 29 July.[17] Burke played for the club's reserves until December when he was called up to the first team by manager Dougie Freedman, whom Burke considered his mentor.[18] On 29 December, Burke scored his first goal for Forest from a curling shot hit with the outside of his right foot against Cardiff City. His goal opened the scoring at the Cardiff City Stadium nine minutes into the game, which ended 1–1.[19] Burke scored his second goal for the club on 16 January 2016 in a 3–0 win over Bolton Wanderers.[20] His performance once again earned a contract extension on a four-year deal on 29 February.[21] Burke ended the 2015–16 season having made twenty-one appearances in all competitions and scoring twice.
On 28 August 2016, in a move that caused outrage among Forest supporters, who criticised the club's owner Fawaz Al-Hasawi,[29] Burke joined newly promoted Bundesliga club RB Leipzig on a five-year contract for an undisclosed fee.[30] The deal was reported by BBC Sport to be worth around £13 million, which set a new record for a transfer involving a Scottish player.[31]
On his debut for Leipzig, a home Bundesliga game against Borussia Dortmund on 10 September, Burke came on after 69 minutes in place of Yussuf Poulsen and provided an assist for Naby Keïta to score the only goal.[32] Fifteen days later he opened the scoring in a 1–1 draw at 1. FC Köln, becoming the first Scot to score in Germany's top flight since Brian O'Neil for VfL Wolfsburg in November 1999.[33]
Despite this early impact, Burke was regularly used as a substitute by Leipzig.[34] Their coaching staff praised his physical attributes, but questioned his tactical awareness.[35]
West Bromwich Albion
Burke returned to English football on 25 August 2017, moving to Premier League club West Bromwich Albion for a reported fee of £15 million,[34] breaking his own record as the most expensive Scottish footballer.[36] He signed a five-year contract at the West Midlands club.[34] Burke said that he chose West Bromwich Albion as a way to have more game time, even though with Leipzig he could play in the Champions League.[37]
He made his debut two days later, replacing goalscorer Jay Rodriguez for the final two minutes of a 1–1 home draw against Stoke City.[38] Owing to hamstring injury, he made only one other substitute appearance by mid-November and took part with the under-21 team in the EFL Trophy, scoring in a 2–1 group stage defeat at Coventry City on 7 November.[39]
On 14 August 2018, Burke scored his first goal for the Baggies, the game's only in a home win over Luton Town in the first round of the EFL Cup.[40] He made only six total appearances in the first half of the season, of which three were in the Championship, all from the bench.[41][42]
On 30 August 2019, Burke was loaned to La Liga club Alavés for the season.[45] Burke made his debut for his new club in their 1–0 defeat to Sevilla on 15 September, and scored his first goal for Alavés in a 2–1 La Liga win over Eibar on 7 February 2020.[46]
Sheffield United
Sheffield United signed Burke from West Bromwich Albion on a three-year contract in September 2020; Callum Robinson moved in the opposite direction.[47] Burke scored his first goal for the club in a 2–1 away league win over Manchester United on 27 January 2021, clinching their first league win against Manchester United since 1992 and their first win at Old Trafford since 1973.[48]
Millwall (loan)
On 21 January 2022, Burke joined Championship rivals Millwall on loan until the end of the 2021–22 season.[49]
Werder Bremen
In June 2022 Burke returned to the Bundesliga, joining newly promoted Werder Bremen.[50] He reportedly moved on a free transfer.[51]
Burke scored his first goal for Bremen on 13 August 2022, netting late to secure a 2–2 draw with VfB Stuttgart.[52] A week later, he scored the decisive goal in a dramatic, come-from-behind 3–2 win at Borussia Dortmund.[53]
In January 2023 Burke returned to former club Millwall on loan until the end of the season.[54]
After making two appearances for Bremen in August 2023, Burke again returned to the EFL Championship on 1 September, the last day of the transfer window, when he signed for Birmingham City on loan for the 2023–24 season.[55] He failed to scored in 23 appearances in all competitions, of which half were as a starter, and played hardly at all in the second half of the season, partly due to injury, as Birmingham were relegated.[56][57]
International career
Burke was eligible to play for England in addition to Scotland, having been brought up south of the border from a young age, but he opted to play for his country of birth.[6][58] He was first called up by Scotland U19 and scored on his debut for the team, a 3–1 win against Mexico U18, on 6 October 2015. He went on to make six appearances for the side.[59]
Burke received his first call-up to the senior Scotland squad on 10 March 2016 for their friendly match against Denmark.[60] He made his debut as an 82nd-minute substitute for goalscorer Matt Ritchie in the 1–0 win at Hampden Park 19 days later.[61]
He was left out of the full squad in June 2017, and was a late call-up to the under-20 squad for the 2017 Toulon Tournament.[62][63] Burke scored both goals in a 3–2 defeat against the Czech Republic.[63] As captain,[64] Scotland claimed a historic first ever victory against Brazil at any level, in the second match.[65] The team went on to win the bronze medal.[66] It was the nation's first ever medal at the competition.[67]
During the 2017–18 season, Burke was selected in the under-21 squad.[68] He made his debut at that level on 5 September, and he scored the first goal in a 2–0 win against the Netherlands.[69] In the 2018 Toulon Tournament, Burke scored goals against France[70] and South Korea[71] as Scotland finished in fourth place.[72] In the third-place play-off against Turkey, he was the only player to miss in the penalty shootout defeat, with Altay Bayındır saving his attempt.[72]
Burke was recalled to the full international squad in March 2019[73] and scored his only senior goal in Scotland's 2–1 victory over Cyprus on 8 June the same year.[74]
Personal life
Burke became engaged to television personality Megan McKenna in June 2023.[75]
Career statistics
Club
As of match played 15 January 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
^Richardson, Nick (24 February 2015). "Bantams loan move for Burke". Nottingham Forest F.C. Archived from the original on 24 February 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
^"Ten things on RB Leipzig's Flying Scotsman Oliver Burke". Bundesliga. 7 September 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2019. The likes of FC Bayern München, FC Barcelona and Jürgen Klopp's Liverpool FC are all purported to have shown some level of interest at some point or other in a player Burke's former Forest teammate Thomas Lam has even compared to Wales flier Gareth Bale.
