Olivier McBurnie may be too raw for the Premier League at the moment, but the young Scottish striker has proven that he can be a clinical frontman in the Championship. Back in January, Barnsley signed him on loan until the end of the season and the supporters were ecstatic as they believed they had a goalscorer who could drag them to safety from relegation.
| SIGNING | We are delighted to announce the arrival of Oli McBurnie from Swansea City for the rest of the season!
https://t.co/EQrTyNYRVA#COYR pic.twitter.com/naUK4k8F6J
— Barnsley FC (@BarnsleyFC) 31 January 2018
As we all know, despite his best efforts, McBurnie failed to have the desired impact at Oakwell and The Tykes suffered relegation at the end of a hard-fought Championship campaign. However, the on-loan Swansea man did give it a bloody go in his months with the club, scoring nine times in 17 outings for his temporary club as he battled to get his side above the red line.
The fans all loved McBurnie and were delighted when he did finally sign on the dotted line after months of speculation. It says a lot about the 22-year-old that he’s currently being relied upon at Swansea as one of the club’s most important players, even though he wasn’t deemed good enough to be used in the Premier League when The Swans were fighting against relegation themselves, and that season at Oakwell he made a name for himself as a Championship hitman.
The Tykes knew that McBurnie was going to be leaving the club and going back to Swansea, but they would have given anything for him to be the hero who kept them up. They also would have been keen to see the striker feature more under Heckingbottom, the manager who signed him. That wasn’t possible, though, as just seven days after the 41-year-old gaffer had worked to sign McBurnie, he left Oakwell to take up the Leeds job. Overall, McBurnie was a success at Oakwell and whilst the season ended poorly for the club, they have fond memories of the Scot.
You can read what The Reds’ said when McBurnie signed here:
YEEEESSS! pic.twitter.com/sxUx6ygPaB
— brett Flavell (@BrettFlavell) January 31, 2018
Fine him for being late! We've been waiting 5 months. @Reds__Report @BarnsleyFC
— Phil (@Philg2012) January 31, 2018
Fantastic signing. Well done @BarnsleyFC
— Phil.I.P (@PhilMCTyke) 31 January 2018
At last. Is this really the Second Coming? (No pressure)!
— Ben Fraytos (@worldofquiche) January 31, 2018
https://twitter.com/Tracy75554236/status/958845974083928065
https://twitter.com/TomHillo/status/958844739108982784
Yesssss Finally!
— Chris Armitage (@MrCArmitage) January 31, 2018
After all that he best score goals
— Sam Oates (@Sam_O94) January 31, 2018
Thanks lads night all the best
— MW (@Wain_dog) 31 January 2018
The Reds loved it when McBurnie signed, even if his spell did end with relegation and they’d do anything to resign the Scottish striker in the future.
