The Tigers spent much of the summer tracking the ex-Sheffield United striker
Phil Parkinson admits he was impressed by what he saw from Oliver McBurnie on Tuesday night, on what was his first start for Hull City.
Parkinson, the ex-Tigers boss, gave McBurnie his senior debut at Bradford City in 2014 before loaning him out to non-league Chester in a bid to get valuable experience.
Since his Valley Parade debut, McBurnie has gone on to play in the Premier League, for Scotland internationally and in La Liga with Las Palmas.
Now back in England with City at the ripe old age of 29, McBurnie capped his full debut against Parkinson’s Wrexham with a well-taken goal, although the Red Dragons were winners on penalties, after fighting back from 3-1 down to score twice in added time through Ollie Palmer.
City will hope McBurnie can add to that goal tally when they play their first MKM Stadium game of the season against Oxford United on Sunday afternoon.
For now, Parkinson’ assessment of McBurnie’s 70-minute display in North Wales is one that should give Tigers fans reason for optimism, especially given the expectation on his shoulders.
“He’s had a great career, Oli,” Parkinson told Hull Live. “I gave him his debut, I think he was 17 at Bradford and I always felt that he had a talent to score, then we sold him to Swansea when we were in a bit of financial problems one summer. The amazing thing was that the sell-on after I’d left created a lot of money for the club, which they needed to build the club moving forward.
“I’m pleased to see a young lad we’ve had do so well, he’s had a good career and yes, looking at him (against Wrexham), he looks a really good player still.”
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