Birmingham City signed forward Oliver Burke on loan from Werder Bremen on deadline day.
This piece is a part of Football League World’s ‘Terrace Talk’ series, which presents the individual viewpoints of our FLW Fan Pundits on the most recent breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings, and more.
On the final day of the transfer window, Birmingham City completed the loan transaction of forward Oliver Burke from Werder Bremen.
Burke joined the Bundesliga team from Sheffield United last summer, but due to a lack of playing time, he spent the second half of the previous season on loan with Millwall. In 17 appearances for the Lions, Burke scored twice and provided two assists as they came just short of the Championship play-offs.
The 28-year-old made two appearances for Bremen in the early weeks of the season, but he was given permission to leave again and move to St Andrew’s.
Burke’s transfer to the Blues was successfully completed, and manager John Eustace expressed his excitement. He also listed the attributes Burke, 26 years old, will bring to his team.
“Oliver is obviously a Championship proven player,” Eustace said to Birmingham Live.
“We are thrilled that he chose to visit Birmingham. I am aware that he had a choice of two or three other teams, but the fact that he opted to join our team only proves that we are on the right track.
Burke completes Birmingham’s transfer business after a busy summer which has seen Tyler Roberts, Krystian Bielik, Ethan Laird, Koji Miyoshi, Siriki Dembele, Dion Sanderson, Keshi Anderson, Lee Buchanan, Jay Stansfield, Emanuel Aiwu and Cody Drameh arrive at the club as Eustace receives significant backing from new owner Tom Wagner.
Oliver Burke: Was he a wise acquisition for Birmingham City?
Mike Gibbs, a Birmingham City supporter and analyst for FLW, says Burke might be a useful addition to the team but that the Blues should have prioritized bolstering other areas.
“I am happy with the signing, but I feel like we were already relatively well-stocked in the positions that he can play in,” Mike said.
“If you think we bought Miyoshi, Anderson, and Dembele, and we already had players like George Hall at the club, I felt that we had a fairly good supply.
Is Birmingham City making a wise choice by adding Oliver Burke?
Burke may turn out to be a wise addition for the team, but Birmingham City supporter Mike Gibbs of FLW believes the Blues should have prioritized other areas of improvement instead of Burke.
Although I am pleased with the addition, Mike felt that we already had adequate depth at the places where he can play.
“If you think we purchased Miyoshi, Anderson, and Dembele, we already have players like George Hall at the club, and I felt that we were quite well-stocked.
After a 1-1 home draw against Millwall on Saturday, the Blues have had a fantastic start to the season and are still unbeaten in the Championship.
With 11 points from their first five games, Eustace’s team enters the break in fourth place in the standings, one point behind Ipswich Town in second place and two points behind Preston North End in first place.
After Wagner took over the club this summer, there was a lot of optimism at St Andrew’s, and so far, the optimism has been supported by the team’s performance on the field.
