Graham Burke is a superstar.
The Soccer Republic team will be able to put together a ‘Goal Of The Season’ compilation of his spectacular goals all on their own.
The Republic of Ireland boss Martin O’Neill had just taken his seat in Tallaght Stadium when Burke slammed another cracker into the top corner from 30 yards with his ‘weaker’ right foot against Cork City on Monday night. He has to have taken notice and surely a number of UK clubs have too.
It was another brilliant strike and goals like that have come so naturally to him, which is no surprise.
They say practice makes perfect and Burke is an excellent example of this.
The skills he learned on the inner city streets of Dublin have made him the player he is today and a lot of things he does are effortless because he has been doing them for so long and is so comfortable with the ball.
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His Rovers team have made an inconsistent start the season but Burke’s performances have made everyone stand up and take notice.
Burke spent his whole schoolboy career with my former club Belvedere, where I would have seen his talent develop from an early age.
Burkey has strong similarities both on and off the pitch to Wes Hoolahan, who also grew up in Dublin city centre played for Belvo as a schoolboy.
Neither of them are blessed with pace but they make up for it with their intelligence. Their movement, their ability to find space, their close control and their incredible touch make the game look easy.
As a national team we are crying out for technically gifted players to step up and improve our ability to control the tempo of games and improve our ability to keep possession.
Burke certainly possess all the qualities necessary to help Ireland do that, but like Sean Maguire and other former League of Ireland stars, it seems he will have to go to back England before he will have the opportunity to prove himself on an international front.
The next question is if Shamrock Rovers would be willing to sell their best asset, if a club comes in for him, which is quite likely.
Burke signed a new three-year contract at the end of last season, which means he’s tied to Tallaght Stadium until the end of the 2020 campaign.
That means the Hoops would be due a transfer fee, which they would have to negotiate.
Stephen McPhail and Stephen Bradley would need to weigh up the plusses of a substantial transfer fee against the negatives of losing their main man and their best player in the middle of season, if the move happened in July.
I would like to think they wouldn’t stand in his way if it was a good deal for him and the club. When they compare the financial aspect of any move to their current league position and the gap between themselves and the top two (currently 10 points), they may feel the need to hold onto him until the end of the season.
One thing is for sure, Graham Burke’s star will continue to rise, here or abroad, and with the lack of attacking talent in the Ireland senior squad in his position, O’Neill would do worse than bringing him into the squad for the three friendly games later this month.
The Ireland boss has already said some players will miss one or all of those friendly matches, due to end-of-season holidays, injuries and fatigue so there are sure to be some new boys in his squad.
Yes it would be a step up, and a big one, but Burke has the capability to do what he has been do it, and O'Neill has nothing to lose by giving him a shot.
