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Breaking records is nothing new to Oliver Burke. From the moment he burst on to the scene as a teenager with Nottingham Forest, personal milestones and little snippets of history came naturally to him.
Having made only 13 starts at senior level for Forest, Burke became Scotland’s most expensive footballer of all-time when newly-promoted RB Leipzig forked out £13million to take him to the Bundesliga back in 2016.
His career with Leipzig never really took flight. Being part of the Red Bull football machine never gave him wings as intended, but that hasn’t stopped him from clocking up some impressive air miles nonetheless.
Burke’s transfer to Leipzig can be viewed as the start of a quite remarkable odyssey through European football, a journey which now sees Union Berlin as his 11th senior club in as many years.
He returned from Leipzig after just one season to join West Brom in 2017 for a fee of £15m, breaking his own Scottish transfer record in the process.
Renowned for his raw pace and power, Burke has since dotted around clubs such as Deportivo Alaves, Sheffield United, Millwall, Werder Bremen, Birmingham, and Celtic.
Oliver Burke became the first Scot to net a hat-trick in the Bundesliga at the weekend
Burke, with the hat-trick ball, is now pushing for a Scotland recall after his form for Union
It has been five years since Burke's last Scotland cap but he did play in Steve Clarke's first game as Scotland boss
It has been a nomadic existence to say the least. But, now 28 years of age and coming into what should be the prime years of his career, has Burke finally found a home in Berlin?
Those early comparisons with Gareth Bale were always likely to be unfair and misplaced, but Burke’s performances in Germany over the past year suggest that he is finally fulfilling his potential.
He was the hero for Union in a thrilling 4-3 win away at Frankfurt at the weekend, with Burke’s three goals seeing him become the first ever Scot to score a hat-trick in the Bundesliga.
He may not have the Bundesliga or Champions League medals to compete with the likes of Alan McInally or Paul Lambert, but Burke is still Scotland’s finest footballing export to Germany in many a long year.
His rejuvenation over the past 12 months also continues the theme of Scotland players excelling abroad, with Scott McTominay’s Ballon d’Or nomination the peak embodiment of that trend.
Which raises an interesting question. How long might it be until we see Burke back alongside McTominay in a Scotland jersey once again?
It is perhaps easy to forget that Burke was a prominent member of the Scotland squad when Steve Clarke took charge back in 2019.
In Clarke’s first match in charge, a Euro qualifier against Cyprus at Hampden, it was Burke who popped up with a last-minute winner as the Scots triumphed 2-1.
Burke has certainly been around his fair share of clubs, including a spell in Spain with Deportivo Alaves
He won the last of his 13 caps five years ago and has fallen into the international wilderness, but his exploits in Germany make it clear that he is far from a lost cause.
Speaking after the victory away at Frankfurt at the weekend, Union Berlin boss Steffen Baumgart said: ‘We knew that Eintracht Frankfurt would dominate possession, but that we would get our chances in counter-attacks.
‘We needed composure to capitalise on those opportunities - and Oliver, in particular, demonstrated that three times.’
Meanwhile, after scoring his first goals for his new club, a delighted Burke added: ‘We had to stay highly focused every second and pushed ourselves to our maximum as a team.
‘Each player brings different strengths to the team and we brought the best of each of them on to the pitch. I’m happy that we were able to celebrate the victory with the fans.’
When you mention Burke’s name to most Scotland fans, it provokes feelings of disappointment, frustration, and of a player who never really lived up to the hype.
They remember a player who was blessed with electric pace but was erratic and inconsistent with what he produced in front of goal.
But that was the old Burke. Speak to any regular observers of German football and they will tell you that he has developed and matured into a much more rounded player now.
After the form he showed for Bremen last season, Union Berlin made it a priority to go out and sign him in the summer when he became available on a free transfer.
Writing on his social media at the weekend, Derek Rae, a Scot who is a widely respected Bundesliga expert and commentator, said: ‘Oliver Burke hat-trick for Union in Frankfurt where they won 4-3.
‘Surely time Steve Clarke calls him back into the Scotland squad. Before anyone says, he wasn’t very good before, he has improved greatly and is doing it in one of the world’s top leagues.
‘Burke is the first Scot to score a Bundesliga hat-trick and at the cauldron that is Frankfurt to boot. Those still opposing him are not watching the Bundesliga.
‘But it’s Steve Clarke’s job to do so and, on form over a number of months, he should be in a squad with attacking limitations.
‘His form pick up goes back months and doing it at a much higher level than most of his competitors. Watch him rather than quoting what he did six years ago. National teams are about the here and now.’
Nobody is arguing that Burke should simply walk straight back into the Scotland starting XI based on one match.
But could he be an asset to Clarke and a valuable member of the squad for the remainder of the World Cup qualifiers? Undoubtedly.
Particularly if he continues to score goals at a decent rate, Scotland would be mad to overlook a player who is producing the goods in one of Europe’s top leagues.
We are not blessed with strikers who score goals. Nor are we blessed with forwards who possess electric pace. Burke offers a genuine point of difference compared to others in the Scotland squad.
Lawrence Shankland is another who will probably come back into the reckoning if his strong early-season form continues with Hearts.
Still only 28, Burke has time to transfer his club form in Germany to his country
If Burke and Shankland both get back in alongside the preferred duo of Che Adams and Lyndon Dykes, that would fill the quota of four strikers. The likes of Tommy Conway and George Hirst would have to miss out.
There is absolutely a case for the continued inclusion of Kieron Bowie, but that would probably mean Burke being included as a wide player rather than behind deployed through the middle.
It’s clear that Clarke has decent options now in the forward area. With the quickfire nature of these games against Greece, Belarus and Denmark coming into view, could Burke be Clarke’s ace in the hole?
Everyone loves a good comeback story. Oliver Burke has been written off more times than he would care to mention.
But at 28 years old, he is far from being washed up and on the scrapheap. The final chapter of his Scotland career is surely yet to be written.
Having fired Clarke to victory in his first match as manager back in 2019, there would be a neat symmetry to it all if Burke returned to help the nation back to a first World Cup in a generation. Wunderbar, indeed.
