Highly-rated midfielder Oliver Burke has stunned the footballing world by sealing a record-breaking £15 million move from Nottingham Forest to Bundesliga new boys Red Bull Leipzig.
The huge sum paid out by Leipzig represents the highest individual fee ever paid for a Scottish player, eclipsing the £12 million shelled out for Ross McCormack and Steven Fletcher.
The deal will be a huge blow to a number of Premier League clubs who wanted to sign one of the most exciting talents in English football. Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham were some big names who were all keen on signing the wonderkid.
Well it is really a bold move from the youngster to move abroad when he had plenty of good options in known territory.
But Burke said it was “time to move on to a new challenge” after Forest accepted the offer, saying of his new club:”They wanted me and expressed a real hunger for me to join them and hopefully enhance their team.
“The technical expertise and facilities are world class, as are the staff. Ralf Rangnick (Leipzig sporting director) was a huge part of my decision to choose Red Bull Leipzig over a number of other interested clubs in both the UK and Europe. They have a desire to be one of the top clubs in Europe – and I am excited to be part of that.”
Burke made his Forest debut two years ago and then racked up 21 appearances last season plus another two for Scotland, scoring twice. This season he already has four goals in just seven games, including one against Leeds 24 hours before the transfer was finalised.
As well as English sides, the attacking player has also been watched by some of Europe’s biggest clubs including Barcelona and Bayern Munich.