HAVING cost West Brom a cool £15 million at the start of last season, Oliver Burke understands that finance may well prevent Celtic from making his loan deal permanent during the summer even if they want to.

But if the forward, who has made an immediate impact since arriving in Glasgow last month, had his way he would have no hesitation, none whatsoever, joining the Scottish champions on a full-time basis.

The 21-year-old has put his demoralising spell at the Hawthorns, where he had made just two starts and five appearances this season, firmly behind him in recent weeks. He has played regularly and, what is more, played well.

Indeed, the double treble winners have won all five of the games he has been involved in, scoring 14 goals and conceding none in the process. The frown is gone and the smile is well and truly back on his face.

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Scotland’s most expensive signing has been at Nottingham Forest, RB Leipzig in Germany and West Brom in the past two-and-a-half years and is eager to end his peripatetic existence and get regular game time. He sees Celtic as the perfect place to do that.

Speaking ahead of the Ladbrokes Premiership match against Hibernian at Parkhead tomorrow evening, a match he looks certain to feature in once again due to the injuries Odsonne Edouard and James Forrest picked up at the weekend, Burke admitted he would open to a long-term agreement.

“I’m really enjoying myself,” he said. “I really like it here, I think it’s a great club with great team mates who have made me feel welcome. Not only that we’re doing really well on the pitch as well and creating a chemistry that’s working. Long may it continue.

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“Right now, I’m just focusing on day to day. I don’t want to look ahead too far because sometimes decisions can be taken out of your hands. But I’m really happy here and if I’m enjoying my football then I want to stay.

“It’s obviously an amazing club to be at, the fans are great, we have a great manager so what’s not to love? I’m really happy so we’ll just have to see what happens.”

Burke, who was capped five times by Scotland after breaking into the Forest first team as a teenager and tipped to be the future of the national team, has come through difficult spells at both Leipzig and West Brom where he has not been part of the manager’s plans. He confessed they had taken a heavy toll on him.

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“It was a very tough time for me,” he said. “Getting up in the morning you think you have an opportunity and you give 110 per cent every day and try to impress. But you feel like it’s just not quite enough, that whatever you do won’t really matter, whether that’s on the training pitch or how you do in the game when you come on as an impact sub.

“I don’t want to dwell too much on that because it’s in the past now. I’m just happy to be at Celtic and focusing each day on learning as a player and getting better and better. And getting the game time with that will really help me as a player too. I know what I’d rather be doing, I just want to play football. I always have done as I love the game so much.

“I’m just a happier boy now that I’m playing football. Every day I’m happy and I’m getting up really excited to come in and train and see the boys. It’s been a really big boost for me after being starved of football for a while now.

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“For me to be back out there enjoying myself and also getting results and being part of a winning team is an amazing feeling. I fell really privileged and proud to be here. I hope it continues and I keep getting the opportunities.”

Burke could move into his favoured role on the right wing in the coming games if Forrest fails to recover from his hamstring strain. But he admitted he had relished being deployed as a lone striker under Brendan Rodgers at Celtic and felt he had learned much about the position doing so.

“To be honest I really like it,” he said. “It’s good to have flexibility and learn different positions so I can either go out on the wing or push into the striker role. I feel it’s working for the team. I’m enjoying it.

“I’ll play anywhere to be honest, we’ll just have to see what happens when the manager picks the team and the formation. But I’m sure I can adapt and I’ll just try and help the team as much as possible no matter where I’m put.”

The Kirkcaldy-born player hasn’t been involved in the full national team under Alex McLeish, but he has turned in some impressive displays for the under-21 side, not least in the Toulon Tournament when he netted an eye-catching individual goal in a 1-0 win over France.

He admitted forcing his way back into the set-up, possibly even for the opening Euro 2020 qualifiers against Kazakhstan and San Marino next month, was an ambition. “Whether it’s this squad or the next one, I will always have my eye on it,” he said.