Former Nottingham Forest rising star Oliver Burke has admitted he now looks back on parts of his career with regret, knowing he simply needed to be more patient.
Burke has been speaking to Kicker about his career and his time at current club Werder Bremen, where things appear to finally be going right for the winger
He was one presented as one of the rising stars of European football after breaking through at Nottingham Forest before moving to RB Leipzig for €15.2m in August 2016.
He’s been unable to settle from that point onwards, though, joining West Bromwich Albion for the same price a year later before spells with Celtic and Alaves.
A move to Sheffield United or €6.5m followed in September 2020 before a loan spell at Millwall before joining Werder Bremen on a free transfer in 2022.
He failed to initially settle at the club and moved to Birmingham on loan before returning this year, where he again appears to be on the fringes.
He’s managed nine appearances in all competitions to date totalling 97 minutes, but recent weeks have seen him playing the role that was initially intended for him, according to Kicker.
The Scot has been increasingly in the picture and showing signs of the player that many felt he could be when he initially broke through at Nottingham Forest.
The 27-year-old is happy about that and now reflects on where he’s gone wrong, admitting a little more patience could have gone a wrong way, perhaps even starting with that exit from Nottingham Forest.
“My situation wasn’t the easiest. Focus is something I’ve definitely improved on,” he 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.”
