When both Manchester clubs, Arsenal, Chelsea AND Liverpool show concrete interest in a player, it's fair to say a host of other sides will also have taken notice. Still, when Scottish starlet Oliver Burke left Nottingham Forest for ambitious German outfit RB Leipzig this summer, European football let out a collective gasp.
Having cost 13m, the 19-year-old right winger is the most expensive Scottish player of all time. When speaking about why he rejected Premier League advances in favour of a move to Germany, Burke is refreshingly candid:
''Look at teams like Chelsea, all their youngsters are out on loan.''
He has a point, and such a comment underlines why Burke rejected one of the so-called 'big boys' in order to ensure regular football. Still, Leipzig is undoubtedly a left-field choice for the 6ft 2in Scot - as reported by "?Mail Online, Burke was more than happy to go into further details as to why he chose the German side:
"?'I stepped foot in the place and it was perfect,'' says Burke. ''They [sporting director Ralf Rangnick and head coach Ralph Hasenhuttl] were telling me about how I could fit into the team, what role I would have. Not just saying how good I am as a player, which is always nice to hear, but also, 'You have a long way to go as well. Your hard drive is only half full defensively'. Damn!''
Burke continued.
''The move surprised a lot of people but the facilities are some of the best in the world. Everything you need. Not just that, it is the love. If the manager really wants you, that is the main priority. I didn't even know how much they were paying for me, I was just like, 'Wow, let's do it. Let's play in the Bundesliga'.''
Despite the fact he's only played 35 first-team games, as mentioned, plenty of the Premier League's elite have been tracking the player and were more than interested in his signature. When responding to all the fuss for his services, Burke maintains his almost child-like enthusiasm:
''I thought I was only grabbing attention off the English clubs, until I found out through my agent about Leipzig. I was gobsmacked.''
Apparently German giants Bayern Munich were also interested, particularly after he scored four goals in five Championship games in August. But by then, Burke had already made up his mind where his next destination would be.
'"?I was going to visit Tottenham,'' he reveals. ''But I said no because Leipzig showed enough care and attention to the little details. For a young man I don't want to go somewhere that is a big club and be thinking am I going to play? Am I going to progress? Or are they just going to stick me out on loan, which happens a lot at English clubs.''
With his new team unbeaten and lying fifth in the table, Burke's German adventure has started pretty much as well as he could have hoped for. On his first appearance as a late substitute, he set up the winner against Borussia Dortmund and as for his full debut at Cologne, he found the net inside five minutes to earn his side a point thus becoming the first Scot to score a Bundesliga goal since Brian O'Neil in 1999.
Burke (who can apparently run the 100 metres in under 11 seconds) made his debut for Scotland in a 1-0 friendly win over Denmark in March 2016.