Former Nottingham Forest prospect Oliver Burke has opened up on his time since leaving the club, admitting his mistakes earlier on in his career.
Burke played 31 times for Forest after coming up through their ranks and breaking into the first team. Under two years after making his professional debut at the City Ground, the Scottish forward made the leap over to then newly-promoted Bundesliga side RB Leipzig in a move worth a reported £13 million.
As he was a bright young star at the time, Forest fans were left angry at then-owner Fawaz Al-Hasawi for allowing the sale.
Life has not gone completely according to plan, though, for Burke, who left the German side after only a year to move back to England with West Bromwich Albion. Numerous permanent and loan moves have followed to English clubs Sheffield United and Birmingham City, as well as temporary switches across the continent to Celtic and Spanish side Alavés.
Burke is now in Germany again playing for Werder Bremen in the first tier. The 27-year-old is a bit-part player, coming on as a substitute in all his appearances this campaign, increasingly gaining more minutes as he begins to finally settle.
Speaking to Kicker, Burke admitted that he did not get everything right in those earlier stages of his career.
"My situation wasn’t the easiest. Focus is something I’ve definitely improved on," the former Forest star said.
"Sometimes I look back and think: Maybe I should have been more patient. Maybe I expected too much – wanted more. But I don’t want to talk about it too much anymore. That’s my journey and that’s how it went.
"I’m looking at the here and now: I’m in a good place and I’m enjoying football here. In the summer I had the feeling that I could prove it to everyone again. That Werder was the right club for me and that it can work here."
Burke made the move to Werder back in 2022 but has been sent out on loan twice since then. A January 2023 switch to Millwall was the first before he returned to the Championship again last campaign with Birmingham City, failing to score in 23 games before suffering from injury as Blues were relegated to League One.
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