Why Reece Burke is a good signing for Hull City
Hull City were on the cusp of relegation from the Championship as the club finished 18th in the league last season, scoring a total of 49 points. They had a largely underwhelming campaign which saw a number of their players underperform.
The club have since moved on from their disappointing campaign and have gone on to complete the signing of West Ham defender Reece Burke for a fee of around £1.5million. He is Hull’s second signing this week after Genoa forward David Milinkovic joined on Monday.
The youngster was a product of the Hull’s youth academy. Burke has also spent time on loan at Bradford, Wigan and, most recently, Bolton.
New Hammers manager Manuel Pellegrini has used the pre-season training camp in Switzerland to assess all areas of his squad and identify the positions in need of strengthening. Having already spent a club-record fee on defender Issa Diop, Pellegrini is still pursuing a deal for another central defender, which would only push Burke further down the pecking order in east London.
But the 21-year-old can nail down a regular spot in the squad if he is able to impress the former Manchester City coach during their pre-season warm-up games. The centre-back’s lack of game time in the Premier League saw him move to Bolton Wanderers on loan last season where he enjoyed a successful spell with the club.
Burke made a total of 22 appearances in the Championship last season scoring 1 goal in the process. He has shown tons of potential in his loan spells with other clubs and maybe it is now time for the defender to settle down at one club. It is vital for any footballer to get familiarised with his atmosphere and nail down a regular role in the squad.
Burke is a tall, strong presence at the back and his ability on the ball is very impressive. At the tender age of 21, the defender has shown immense growth and maturity in his game.
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Former West Ham midfielder Frank Lampard, now Derby’s manager, was also reportedly interested in the 21-year-old, though the player has chosen the Tigers based on the promise of more game time.
Under manager Nigel Adkins, Reece Burke could go on and unleash his full potential to become one of the best centre-backs in the Championship next season. His performances will be vital as Hull City make a run for the promotion play-off this year.