OLIVER Burke has always looked like one of those big, complete, world class number nines. You know, the kind that Scotland doesn’t produce any more. If, that is, we ever did.

Able to cover 100 metres in 11 seconds at the age of just 13, yet still blessed with the quick feet and creative brain of a winger, he has always moved like one of them too. Now, with a little help from Brendan Rodgers and his archive of video clips, he might just be starting to think like one.

While adapting to the patterns of play of his new team-mates is also a key part of the equation, Burke admitted on Wednesday night that since arriving at Celtic on-loan from West Brom a few weeks ago the 21-year-old has spent some time poring over footage of the movement of the likes of Luis Suarez, the prolific Uruguayan striker who spent time leading the line for the Northern Irishman at Liverpool. If the manner Burke snaffled up two poachers’ goals on his league debut against St Mirren side is anything to go by, then the early signs are good.

“My team-mates and how they play is obviously something which is still new to me – I’m looking at them and watching clips to see how they play as players so we can all help each other out so I can give them the best quality and lay-offs,” said Burke. “I’m also looking at clips of recent players he [Rodgers] has had who have done really well. Players like Suarez. You look at their clips and learn from the very best. There’s all sorts we look at and look to improve upon. Even when you look back at games, you go through clips and sometimes you don’t see things until you look back at them. There are many things, different types of movement and little tips that the gaffer will give me.”

As much as most managers prize versatility, there is a time where it helps a young player like Burke to nail his colours to the mast. Is he a winger/inside forward or a No 9? Perhaps the best example in a Celtic context is Stuart Armstrong, who was being shunted out left and all over the place until the Northern Irishman told him he was a central midfield and challenged him to win a place in the Parkhead team on those terms alone. In Burke’s case, while at times it would be great to see him put himself about against centre halves with more vigour, it seems a waste for him to be blessed with such physical gifts and not use them at the sharp end of the pitch.

“That was something me and the gaffer spoke about,” said Burke. “It [central striker] is somewhere I can play. Obviously, I don’t mind going out wide or up top, but I feel I contribute as a striker, with runs in behind, and getting some goals. I feel like it’s working. I’m learning a lot under the gaffer and if I keep working hard and training hard I can only get better in that position, and it gives me more flexibility on the park.”

It always helps, of course, when you have already notched two goals on your league debut for your new club; two archetypal ‘strikers’ finishes. There was a goal in the EFL Cup for West Brom in August but these were his first league strikes for fully two and a half years. That, of course, is far too long for a player who has already seen £28m change hands for his services by the age of 21.

“It was a great release for me,” said Burke. “ I knew after I got the ball in the net that that I’d get my confidence back and feel at home again. I was talking about it before the game – getting in the right position and sort of goal-poaching. I got into the right positions and got the goals, so happy days.

“My career has been a bit stop-start,” he admitted. “Sometimes things go your way and sometimes they don’t. It [the transfer fees] are not really something I’ve ever thought about. But I’m ready to give my all and it’s really important for me now to get my head down and do the very best that I can.”

Two games in, with no future fee agreed with West Brom, it is far too early to say anything concrete about the possibility of the loan deal becoming permanent. But Burke isn’t exactly against the prospect. “It’s not really anything that’s been spoken about yet but I’m sure if I continue to keep doing well and stuff I’m sure I’ll want to stay here as a player,” he said. “Knowing that I’m going to play football, I think that’s the main thing for me now especially at a young age. I’ve been sort of starved of football for the past couple of years now so that’s all I want to do. I just want to be out there enjoying myself on nights like Wednesday.”