Oliver Burke has confessed that he lost his love for football in his first season at West Brom after failing to adapt to life at the Hawthorns.
In an interview with The Daily Record, the Scotland international revealed that the beginning few months of his time with the Baggies made him fall out of love with the game with Burke claiming that a change in manager and picking up a long-term injury did little to help his chances in the first-team.
The former RB Leipzig attacker was seen as an exciting signing when West Brom shelled out £15m for the 22-year-old winger as reported by BBC Sport, but ill-fortune saw Burke shunned away from the first-team, with stats from Transfermarkt showing that the forward played just 356 minutes of league football, and the youngster admitted that his treatment at the club made him lose the passion for the game he once had.
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Burke said about his time at West Brom: “With the manager change and getting the injury at the beginning… everything gets on top of you. Not playing as much, not even being part of the team. You feel left out. You do lose that love for the game. Obviously, I was coming into training, and as soon as I was out on the pitch I loved it. But it’s when you come away, you go back home, you overthink everything. You think ‘Why am I not playing?’, ‘What do I need to do better?’”
With Burke currently on his second loan spell, this time at Deportivo Alaves, the Scotsman’s time at West Brom seems to be drawing to a close with the winger keen on leaving the club for good, and with the Baggies on course to gain Premier League promotion this season, the former Nottingham Forest star could have his wish granted this summer.
