Director of football hits out after Nottingham Forest find accepts ‘significantly higher’ offer

The former Nottingham Forest forward has finally come good after years looking to establish himself at a club – and now he’s moving on

Werder Bremen have expressed their ‘regret’ that former Nottingham Forest starlet Oliver Burke has decided to leave the club after his excellent season.

Burke, who spent nine years coming through the ranks at the City Ground, has endured a nomadic career after being sold by Fawaz Al Hasawi to RB Leipzig just days after manager Philippe Montanier said he should remain with the Reds.

That was back in 2016 as Forest scooped £13m for a 19-year-old who was progressing well and looked to have a bright future. He ended up struggling to make the grade with the Bundesliga outfit who quickly sold him to West Brom.

He moved around for the next five years, making very little impact until Bremen side him in 2022. Even then he was loaned back to the Championship, where he played for Millwall and had a dire spell with Birmingham City last season.

However, this term has been entirely different, Burke has been lauded for making improvements to his game, and while a return of six goals in 25 games isn’t record-setting for someone who has played predominantly as a centre-forward, he has played his part in taking Bremen to seventh and within three points of a Europa League place.

Indeed, he has done so well that there have been talks about extending his stay at Werder Bremen beyond the expiry of his contract this summer. Those talks have not come to fruition with the club issuing a statement confirming as much.

“We regret Oliver’s decision and would have liked to keep him here,” Clemens Fritz, Werder’s managing director of football said.