Brighton Opinion: Seagulls should beat Sheffield United to sign Oliver McBurnie

According to claims from reputed Sun journalist Alan Nixon, newly-promoted Sheffield United and Brighton and Hove Albion are set to battle it out for Swansea City star Oliver McBurnie this summer.

The same report claims that Swansea might be forced to part ways with several of their first-team stars after failing to challenge for promotion back to the Premier League in the first time of asking. The potential departure of manager Graham Potter might also play a role behind the club losing some of their top performers.

The Swans failed to make any sort of an impact in terms of challenging for promotion but 22-year-old star Oliver McBurnie fired 24 goals in all competitions this season to enhance his reputation as one of the brightest upcoming talents in the Championship.

And it is believed that the Scotsman’s scintillating run of form has caught the eyes of Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder, who is prepared to offer the youngster a chance to make the step up to the Premier League.

Brighton are currently without a manager following the dismissal of Chris Hughton but it is pretty evident the Seagulls are looking to bring in significant reinforcements after narrowly beating the drop in the Premier League.

McBurnie rose through the youth ranks at Leeds United before going on to join League One outfit Bradford City, where he spent time on loan at Chester in the Conference Premier.

The youngster earned rave reviews for his performances in the lower leagues of English football and Swansea snapped him up on a three-year contract in 2015.

The 22-year-old struggled for regular minutes at Swansea when the club was in the Premier League and was shipped out on loan to Barnsley in the Championship in the second half of last season.

McBurnie netted 9 goals in 17 appearances for the Tykes and impressed with his firepower in front of goal, although that wasn’t enough to save the club from relegation.

However, the highly-rated youngster has took a giant leap towards fulfilling his potential this season, having enjoyed a wonderful breakthrough season at the Liberty Stadium. McBurnie came of age to star for the Swans in what was otherwise a pretty mediocre campaign by their standards.

To put things into perspective, McBurnie bagged 22 goals in the Championship this season and he certainly deserves a chance to prove his credentials in the top-flight next term.

As things stand, he would be a really good signing for both Sheffield United and Brighton but the Seagulls could do themselves a world of good by getting their hands on the talented 22-year-old Scottish international this summer.

Brighton were never really considered as serious relegation contenders at the start of the season but they got themselves into a big hole with a poor run of form and they should consider themselves lucky to have escaped unscathed from the relegation dogfight.

Whoever succeeds Hughton would need to reshuffle the squad and bring in some fresh faces to get the team back on track.

Glenn Murray finished the season with 13 goals to his name, while Florin Andone, who arrived for a bargain fee last summer from Deportivo La Coruna, only played a bit-part role.

Alireza Jahanbakhsh was brought in for a club-record fee but the free-scoring Iranian drew a complete blank in terms of goals and assists, while another big-money recruit Jurgen Locadia didn’t do much better.

McBurnie, who is a technically-gifted and tactically-versatile attacker, can help Brighton improve massively in the final third. While he predominantly featured as a centre-forward for Swansea this season, the 22-year-old has also been used on either flank and through the centre as a supporting striker over the course of his career.

However, he is at his best when deployed as the leader of the line in a centre-forward role, which allows him to bring his height, physicality and hold-up play into the game.

Standing at 6ft. 2 inches with a towering frame, McBurnie combines the virtues of an old-school centre-forward and a dynamic modern-day playmaking forward.

Noted for his aerial prowess, ability to hold the ball with his back to goal and smart link-up play,  McBurnie is extremely fast and agile for a player of his stature and boasts of plenty of flair and trickery on the ball. Moreover, he works extremely hard and is always prepared to track back and help out his defenders.

Still only 22, McBurnie is very much in the developmental phase of his career but he has already shown strong signs of excellence in the Championship.

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Brighton could possibly have a gem on their hands if he goes on to fulfil his potential at the Amex Stadium. Swansea are unlikely to let him go on the cheap after a prolific breakthrough season but that shouldn’t stop the Seagulls from using their financial muscle to test the Swans’ resolve.