GORDON Strachan has repeatedly bemoaned the absence of a genuine world-class player, a Gareth Bale, a Zlatan Ibrahimovic, a Robert Lewandowski, for him to select since being appointed Scotland manager.

He is convinced that if he had one stellar talent, just one, at his disposal during the last three years then his attempts to lead his country through to the finals of a major tournament would have been aided considerably.

But could Oliver Burke, who became the most expensive Scottish player of all-time on Sunday when German club Red Bull Leipzig paid Nottingham Forest a cool £13 million for his services, be that special individual he has been yearning for?

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The 19-year-old certainly has many attributes; he is 6ft 2in tall and powerfully built with it, he is lightning-quick, he is comfortable in possession and he has an eye for goal.

Mark McGhee, the Scotland assistant manager, admitted yesterday he had been impressed with the Kirkcaldy-born youngster, who played in the friendlies against Denmark and Italy last season, from the minute he first set eyes on him. Indeed, Burke reminded the former Wolves manager of a fledgling Robbie Keane.

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McGhee was, then, not at all taken aback when the winger attracted the interest of a Bundesliga club. He was only astonished that no Premier League club had tabled an offer for a player who has scored four goals in the Championship already this season.

Yet, the 59-year-old, who himself spent a spell in Germany with SV Hamburg during his own playing career, has urged caution in the wake of the headline-grabbing transfer. He believes it would be wrong to expect too much of the teenager at international level too soon.

“As soon as I saw Oliver I knew he was a player,” he said. “There was something about him – the way he moved, his size, his touch, there was just something about him.

“From the very first moment I saw him on our training park I was licking my lips. In terms of making such a first impression I can think only of Robbie Keane who has come close. He has that X Factor.

“I’m not surprised at the move. I’m just surprised that one of the big clubs in England didn’t have a punt on him. I think it was obvious for me that one of them should have taken him.

“You think back to Arsenal taking Theo Walcott early on for a fee and I thought Burke was an obvious one. They are buying players from abroad and yet there’s one right under their nose that will turn out to be a super player.”

Asked if the youngster could be Scotland’s answer to Bale, McGhee said: “That remains to be seen. He can be a great player, but we have to be careful.

“The great player I think he will become won’t happen as a result of him playing one game for Leipzig. In 18 months’ time I hope he develops into the player they have invested in.

“There will be ups and downs before he gets to the level I expect him to reach. It won’t happen overnight. But for me he has what it takes to be a top player.”

McGhee, though, feels that playing for Leipzig against the likes of Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Borussia Monchengladbach in the Bundesliga on a regular basis will improve Burke enormously as a player. In time, he feels that Scotland will also benefit.

“The way they go about their business takes professionalism another level," he said. "Yes, they are footballers, but nothing else distracts them.

“When I went to Germany people asked me why the German club sides such as Bayern or the international side do so well? When I went over I could see why. They were much more committed to what they were doing.

“Even more so than when I was at Aberdeen. I was a member of a team that was committed, but not at the level the Germans operated at. It was a level I didn’t know was there.

“For a young player to go and be influenced by the regimes over there and to learn the attitudes they adopt towards games and training is fantastic.”

McGhee was 27 and had played for Morton, Newcastle United and Aberdeen – where he won the Premier Division twice, the Scottish Cup three times, the European Cup Winners’ Cup and the European Super Cup – when he moved to Hamburg in 1984.

He appreciates that moving abroad will be more difficult for Burke, who only really established himself in the Forest first team last season, than it was for him. However, he is confident that he can make the transition with ease.

“Oliver seems a calm boy and focused,” he said. “He doesn’t seem as if he’ll go there and go off the rails. He’s the sort of lad who will embrace it. You can see in his eyes he’s excited by it and I hope he sticks with it.

“Leipzig is not the same as Dortmund, Munich or Hamburg as it’s the former East Germany. But I think he’s at a club that has big ambitions and that’s important.”

Scotland face Malta in their opening World Cup qualifier in the Ta’Qali Stadium on Sunday evening and Burke is in contention for a place in the match day squad. McGhee, though, stressed that he wouldn’t be automatically selected as a result of his record-breaking transfer.

“He’s not in our squad because he joined Leipzig. He was already in our thoughts. He was one of the options that we have discussed for being in the team. The transfer doesn’t change anything. But he’s certainly one of the runners and riders."