Why McBurnie has already repaid the faith and effort City expended in the summer to get him
Barry is the Hull City correspondent, and previously covered Nottingham Forest for the Nottingham Post/Nottinghamshire Live. Barry has reported on Hull City’s League One title success and Championship campaigns
It became something of a saga over the long summer months. The will he won’t he question that surrounded Oli McBurnie and Hull City.
From the moment he left Las Palmas following their relegation from La Liga, the Scotland international became one of the Championship’s hottest properties, given he was on a free transfer.
City held talks with McBurnie early in the summer and were positive about his arrival, but they faced competition, naturally, for a player of his calibre.
Then there was the embargo and the restrictions that made everything more complicated, and at one point, the feeling behind the scenes was that he would go elsewhere. Sheffield United and Swansea City wanted their old man back, amongst others, but it was City’s persistence and determination that won the day.
McBurnie arrived to much fanfare, though some fans understandably had questions about whether or not the 28-year-old could be the number nine City have craved for so long, probably since Abel Hernandez left the club.
It’s fair to say that any questions about whether or not McBurnie could have the impact City craved have probably been well and truly answered after just seven games of the season in league and cup.
Saturday’s 3-1 win over Southampton saw an electric performance from McBurnie, both inside and outside the penalty area. His clever ball through for Mohamed Belloumi from inside his own half in the first period showed his ability to create for others, and then in the second period, his knockdown for John Lundstram’s superb volley was another fine piece of movement and execution.
Even before that stunning counter-attacking goal was fired into the net by Lundstram, McBurnie had been a nuisance as City attempted to clear the ball from the edge of their box.
After notching a third assist of the season, he then got on the scoresheet with a deft header into the bottom corner from Ryan Giles’ pinpoint free-kick.
That header took his league tally to three goals, four if you include the one in the Carabao Cup at Wrexham, while he now has three assists to his name. Nobody in the league has more goal contributions in these early weeks.
McBurnie is everything City needed. A focal point up front, a player capable of causing problems, occupying defenders and with the nous to be able to score goals, create space for others as well as opportunities.
His all round game is so, so good, and he’s benefiting from being in a system and around other players that can get the best out of him and that’s why the Tigers now have one of the most feared frontmen in the league.
The season might only be six weeks old, but already, McBurnie is proving why City were right to invest so much time and effort in convincing the forward to come to the MKM Stadium and be a figurehead under Sergej Jakirovic’s new-look Tigers outfit.
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