Oliver Burke has broken a record - Birmingham City & Sheffield United fans may be shocked | OneFootball

Oliver Burke has done what no fellow Scotsman has in the Bundesliga.

Oliver Burke had plenty of potential in the early stages of his career, but he could never get going during his time in England.

The Scotsman had high expectations lauded upon him immediately at a young age, with RB Leipzig making him the most expensive Scottish player of all time as a teenager when they spent £13 million to take him from Nottingham Forest in 2016.

Then, West Bromwich Albion paid even more to take him back to England a year later, as the then-20-year-old cost a whopping £15 million.

Now 28, Burke has never reached the heights the early transfer fees warranted, failing to make an impact at a number of English clubs, most notably Sheffield United and Birmingham City — where he was relegated twice, from the Premier League with the Blades and then the Championship at St Andrews.

However, now, he's seemingly embracing a fresh start at Union Berlin, and recently became the first Scotsman to score a hat trick in the Bundesliga, during his side's 4-3 win over Frankfurt.

All three were well-taken goals, and both Blades and Blues fans have been left scratching their heads at how someone who flopped hard at their clubs performed like that in a major European league.

Oliver Burke's disappointing time at Sheffield United and Birmingham City

It's safe to say that not many Sheffield United or Birmingham fans remember Burke's time at their clubs too fondly, as he was part of sides that were relegated from the Premier League and the Championship, respectively.

At Bramall Lane, Burke joined the club as part of a swap deal, which saw Callum Robinson head the other way to West Brom.

After an overly positive 2019/20 campaign, which saw the Blades finish 9th in the Premier League, their second season in the top flight was a disaster, losing 29 of their 38 games and finishing rock bottom.

Burke scored just once that season, and despite starting the first two games of the following Championship campaign, he played just once more in the league before being sent out on loan to Millwall for the second half of the term.

The Scotsman was let go after that spell, returning to Germany to play for Werder Bremen. However, after a stop-start first season, which resulted in another loan move to Millwall, the Bundesliga side was happy for Burke to be sent out for the entirety of the 2023/24 campaign, this time to Birmingham City.

The Blues were hugely disappointing throughout that campaign and found themselves relegated to League One at the end of it. Burke played just 21 times in the league, started 11, and made just two Championship appearances in 2024 due to injuries and being unfavoured at times.

In the end, he returned to Werder Bremen having been on the winning side of just three Championship games.

Sheffield United and Birmingham City will look at record-breaking Oliver Burke with slight confusion

Burke hasn't exactly hit the ground running at any club he's been at. In fact, last season's five goals at Werder Bremen were the most he'd managed in a league campaign in his entire career.

However, the 28-year-old fancied a change in scenery, rejecting Werder Bremen's advances on extending his expiring deal this past summer for a new deal at their fellow Bundesliga side, Union Berlin.

Despite going scoreless in his first three games, he looked dangerous in his hat-trick performance against Frankfurt, and now some are even suggesting he return to the Scotland national team for the first time since 2020.

It's up to him to continue this form throughout the season and prove that this three-goal flurry wasn't a one-off, and if he does, both Birmingham and Sheffield United will be left wondering where this Oliver Burke was during his time at their clubs.