Oliver Burke proves he must play wide for Celtic to get £15m worth of talent from player

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Celtic defeated Airdrie in the Scottish Cup this weekend with a comfortable 3-0 win at Parkhead. A brace from Scott Sinclair and a first Bhoys goal for Timothy Weah gave Celtic an expected victory as they aim for more domestic silverware this season.

The game also gave Celtic a chance to take a look at newbies, such as Weah, and Oliver Burke.

The Scottish youngster has joined Celtic on loan from West Brom. He has built up quite a reputation already in his short career. He cost RB Leipzig £13 million in 2016 and then West Brom paid £15 million for him in 2017. Neither move has worked out.

Celtic found out one of the reasons why at the weekend. Teams, as Celtic did at the start of the game, insist on playing him as a central striker.

On paper, that should work. He his tall, strong, electric fast and does have an excellent finish. However, Burke came through the ranks at Nottingham Forest as a winger and right now that is where he has to play.

His touch and guile are simply not at the standard where playing through the middle suits him as yet, especially as a lone frontman.

It appears people in the game got carried away with his Gareth Bale comparisons and tried to switch him centrally, as the Welsh superstar did. But first, Bale developed as a sensational and unstoppable winger and that is where Burke still belongs at this stage of his career.

When moved out wide, Celtic fans were far more pleased with the display of their loan recruit.

That is where he needs to play if Brendan Rodgers wants to get the Bale-like qualities from his game. Burke needs to get back to basics to rediscover his breathtaking talent. That means playing wide.