What’s next for Oliver Burke after his disastrous loan spell at Birmingham City

If Jay Stansfield is the epitome of how fruitful a loan can be, Oliver Burke’s time at Birmingham City is the exact opposite.

Werder Bremen striker Burke was a slightly disappointing addition on the final day of the summer transfer window, a week after Stansfield had announced himself with a stunning 95th-minute winner against Plymouth Argyle. While Stansfield endeared himself to a fan base with a clean sweep of 13 goals at the club’s end-of-season awards dinner, Burke left the Blues with boos in their ears.

That said, the anger of the Blues fans in Rotherham is probably the last thing on Burke’s mind on his deck chair in Dubai. The 27-year-old is now enjoying one of the stereotypical post-season escapes after playing his part in the Blues’ relegation to League One.

Let’s go back to September, shortly after Burke arrived, and remember why he was signed. Head coach at the time, John Eustace, said: “I think he’ll give us a lot of physicality, something we don’t have in the team apart from the big Jukey. He gives us some good options there.

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“He has lightning speed. He will be very good in transitions when we win the ball back and he will get us up the field very quickly, which is what we want.

“We pride ourselves on being very difficult to play against defensively, but we also need players to get on the pitch and make things happen in the final third. I expect Oli to do that.”

Burke was given a quick start by Eustace in the 2-0 defeat to Watford and kept his place against Preston North End. There was a pass over the kick to Koji Miyoshi at Deepdale that appears in the low moments of Burke’s season.

Eustace was quite possibly the manager that Burke’s skills were most geared towards when the Blues lost early on. This has largely been a theme of Burke’s time with the club. The Blues have lost seven of the 11 Championship matches he has started, drawn three and won just one – against Sheffield Wednesday in November when Burke was substituted 17 minutes before Jordan James scored the winning goal.

The final game of the Wayne Rooney era saw Burke deployed on the right. The less said about it the better.

Tony Mowbray offered Burke a chance in the FA Cup but he and Mark Venus effectively washed their hands of the winger after he looked poor on the bench against Leicester City at the end of January.

“It felt like the changes made us less effective and their changes made them more effective,” Mowbray said afterwards. “It’s an important part of their career, they’ve seen the identity, they’ve seen how hard they have to work. If they don’t bring it, they won’t play.

“It depends on them. I’ve always said that. I try to lay out everything about what I believe and how we need to do it. Either they want to come on the trip and do it, or they don’t. Those who don’t, aren’t playing. As far as I can see, it’s as simple as that.”

Burke was out in the cold for three months, largely because Mowbray and Venus preferred other options, but partly because of a muscle injury. Nobody expected caretaker boss Gary Rowett to open it against Rotherham United on April 20.

Rowett had signed Burke twice before and that air of familiarity was too much to ignore once he was fit. After one weak touch of too many, the away Blues fans at the New York Stadium turned on Burke.

Boos greeted every Burke touch in the final minutes of the first half. Rowett had no choice but to withdraw him at half-time.

“We felt like if they played a back five, which they have done recently, and there would be a lot of space in that side, his pace could cause them problems,” explained Rowett. “And you know it’s going to be a physical. The set piece game you saw when we changed it to our technical players we lacked physicality. You just have to make a decision about it.

This was the last position of Burke’s Blues career: 23 appearances, zero goals, zero assists. Once the holidays are over, the former Scotland international will return to Germany to sort out his future.

There have already been reports in Germany suggesting that Werder Bremen – who finished ninth in the Bundesliga last term – will try to offload Burke. Burke, whose partner Megan McKenna is expecting their first child, is likely to look to move back to England.

He signed with renowned football agency Wasserman in February and they will handle his transfer this summer. After all, there are 21 Championship clubs – and a further 23 in League One – that Burke has yet to play for.

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