McBurnie poised for Leeds test

20th August
First team

Oli McBurnie hopes to upset some close friends and his home-city club when the Swans host Leeds United on Tuesday night.

Leeds-born McBurnie was part of the club’s academy set-up before being released and later signing professional terms with Bradford City in 2013.

A move to the Liberty in 2015 followed, with the striker now a firm part of Graham Potter’s first-team plans.

McBurnie has started all three Championship games so far this season and scored in the opening-day win at Sheffield United.

The 22-year-old put in another big shift on Friday night as the Swans battled bravely to hold Birmingham City to a 0-0 draw at St Andrew’s.

Now Potter's side are preparing for another big challenge, with Leeds heading to SA1.

And McBurnie is looking forward to testing himself against a team who have made a promising start to life under new boss Marcelo Bielsa.

“My friends are Leeds fans, so they are looking forward to this one,” smiled McBurnie. “Hopefully I’ll be the one smiling on Tuesday night though.

“I know a lot about the club because I was part of the youth set-up and I’m from the city.

“I actually had a goal disallowed against Leeds when I was with Barnsley last season – I was celebrating when I realised it hadn’t been given!

“As a team we know what Leeds are about and the manager will have a game-plan so it’s up to us to execute that.

“They are a really good team, but we go into this game with confidence.

“The manager has a lot of faith in us and we have taken a lot from our opening three games, but we are well aware that we have a lot to improve on.

“This will be a big test for us.”