13-cap international forward on Birmingham City transfer radar | OneFootball

Birmingham City are off to an exciting start to their summer transfer business with the additions of players that could take them from a bottom half, relegation-threatened Championship side to one that challenges in the top half.

Krystian Bielik has returned from Derby County on a permanent basis, whilst Tyler Roberts and Ethan Laird have been added from Leeds and Man United respectively, and in addition to that Japanese international winger Koji Miyoshi has also arrived at St Andrew's.

They are being linked with several other additions in what is a promising time for the Blues, who are waiting for the seal of approval from stockholders via the Hong Kong Stock Exchange later in the month for Tom Wagner's takeover bid to go through.

That isn't holding up the club's transfer activity though, and the latest player they are being touted with a potential move for is Oliver Burke.

According to BirminghamLive, the 26-year-old Scotland international is firmly on the club's radar as they look for attacking reinforcements, with Burke expected to secure a move back to England of some kind this summer.

Who is Oliver Burke?

Burke began his professional career with Nottingham Forest, emerging as a real promising winger and made his professional debut in September 2014 at the age of 17 in the EFL Cup against Tottenham, just a few days after penning his first deal with the club.

After making his real breakthrough into the Forest first-team setup in the 2015-16 season with two goals in 21 outings, Burke exploded into life in the opening weeks of 2016-17, scoring four times in five Championship appearances, attracting the attentions of some of Europe's biggest clubs.

Forest ended up selling Burke late on in the 2016 summer transfer window in a £13 million move to RB Leipzig, but his career really failed to take off as expected in Germany.

After just one season in the Bundesliga, where he scored one goal in 25 matches, Burke returned to England and had a shot in the Premier League with West Brom, who spent £15 million on the Scottish forward's services.

Burke though flopped with the Baggies and after loan spells of contrasting fortunes - a positive one with Celtic but a poor stint at Alaves - he signed for Sheffield United in September 2020 in a swap deal involving Callum Robinson, thus remaining a Premier League player.

Only ever a backup forward with the Blades, Burke signed for Millwall on loan for the second half of the 2021-22 season, scoring twice in 14 matches but then secured a return to Germany with Werder Bremen last summer on a permanent basis.

Just 17 games into his new career at Bremen though and Burke was back in England and again at The Den with Millwall on loan, ending the 2022-23 season at the Lions with another two goals and two assists in 17 outings.

Burke is contracted at Bremen until 2025 but does not look to have a future in Germany.

Would Oliver Burke be a good signing for Birmingham?

A natural winger who has played a lot as a striker in recent times, Burke won't bring you many goals judging off his recent history but he will bring plenty of effort.

What the Scotsman also brings is versatility and another option, and one that has plenty of experience in good leagues such as the Premier League, Championship and the Bundesliga.

There must be a reason why teams keep on investing in Burke despite his lack of scoring prowess, and there's plenty of reasons why a club like Birmingham would want to add him to their attack - should they be able to get him on a loan deal or for a low six-figure fee then it would be a positive move.