Forgotten Scotland striker posts snap of himself in national kit but deletes pic

HE hasn’t played for Scotland for three years.

But as the injuries piled up, the door appeared to open and he began to dream of representing his country once more at the Euros.

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Oli McBurnie missed out on Euro 2020 due to injury but this time he wasn’t selected in Steve Clarke‘s original 28-man squad ahead of the tournament in Germany.

Lyndon Dykes and Ben Doak were forced to withdraw due to injuries and it seems McBurnie, who has 16 caps but has never scored hor his country, was at least hoping he’d be in the frame to replace them.

Clarke’s first call was to Bristol City star and Scotland Under-21s forward Tommy Conway however before last night welcoming back Lewis Morgan after a five-year absence from the national setup.

Morgan has been in fine form for New York Red Bulls in the MLS and brings the total number of players in the camp up to 28 again, with Clarke to whittle it down to 26 before next week.

McBurnie previously irked the Tartan Army when he made disparaging comments about leaving Sheffield United for international duty and on another occasion when he pulled out of a squad only to appear in a friendly a few days later for his club.

But he has always insisted he loves playing for Scotland, with his Glaswegian father bringing him to feel Scottish and he wore the dark blue tops in his youth in Leeds.

He therefore remains a somewhat marmite character with sections of the fan base but when Dykes went down, it could be argued he was the closest thing to a like-for-like replacement.

McBurnie is the same height as Dykes and like the QPR frontman he likes to use his physique to his advantage. He scored six goals for Sheffield United as the suffered relegation from the Premier League.

Last night at just after 11pm, McBurnie posted a picture of himself in a Scotland kit.

The photo shows him applauding the fans but it came with no caption and was quickly deleted, sparking questions as to why he posted it in the first place.

Other fans speculated that the 28-year-old could actually do a job at Euro 2024.

One said: “Wasn’t he injured recently? Is he fit to play?”

Another commented: “I know he’s not exactly popular and I am by no means a fan, but he was on a decent run of form in the EPL towards the end of the season, and given that he’s experienced in playing for Scotland and how little we have in the way of striker alternatives at the moment then we could do worse than having him in the squad (if he is actually fit enough).”

A third responded: “With his experience he might actually be a good shout against Germany.”

McBurnie, who also provided three assists in his 21 EPL games this season, didn’t feature in any of Sheffield United’s last five matches, only making the bench for their final game of the campaign against Tottenham Hotspur.

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