It was March 2015. And almost everyone in Scottish football had a laugh at Oliver McBurnie’s expense.
How could a Chester City striker possibly get into the Scotland Under-19 squad ahead of a starlet from Real Madrid?
SFA coach Ricky Sbragia was hung out to dry.
Slaughtered for leaving out Bernabeu teen Jack Harper in favour of a boy Bradford City had farmed out on loan.
And punters looked at the skinny Yorkshire kid with his socks at his ankles and asked: “Oli who?”
But who’s laughing now? Both Harper and McBurnie have excelled in their careers so far.
While the Getafe forward will be in Spain’s La Liga next season, Sheffield United’s new £20million man will spearhead the Blades’ attack in the Premier League.
And make no mistake, no-one deserves to be there more than Oli.
In the crazy, mega-rich world of England’s top flight, this isn’t a guy who’s had everything on a plate.
He hasn’t been nurtured at one of the country’s top academies, being plied with cash and big contracts along the way.
McBurnie’s a working-class lad from Leeds who grafted his way to the top.
Being sent to play at places like Chester and Newport County couldn’t have been easy – and the derision from his critics must have been tough.
Despite his Yorkshire upbringing you won’t find a more passionate Scot than McBurnie. His dad Neil, whose family hail from Glasgow, wouldn’t have it any other way.
And the values he has been brought up with won’t change, even with a hefty price tag around his neck.
Trust me, in the modern world of big egos, agents and PR gurus, McBurnie is a breath of fresh air.
And that’s why we should feel proud that a Scot was the talk of the Premier League on Friday.
The switch from Swansea City makes him the most expensive Scottish player ever. Obviously, the transfer market has gone off the scale down south.
But McBurnie can play. In this country, we’re too quick to write off young players with talent.
But Steve Clarke is an admirer and, given his style of play, the 23-year-old should be seen as the long-term replacement for Steven Fletcher.
He might look ungainly at times. But for a big guy, he’s got an excellent first touch.
He’s strong, wiry, difficult to tie down. Have a look at the YouTube video of his 22 goals for Swansea last season in England’s second tier.
All different types, usually finding corners of the net. Right foot, left foot, class headers.
Old school Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder is no mug. He’s had to pay the market value for McBurnie but he was determined to get his man.
He’d have had his pick of strikers with a cool £20m burning a hole in his pocket. But McBurnie was the guy he wanted.
And plying this trade in the Premier League should take the Scot’s game to the next level. That can only be good for Clarke and the Tartan Army, with vital Euro 2020 qualifiers and play-offs on the horizon.
So don’t have a pop at McBurnie for how he looks or wonder why he has moved for that kind of cash.
Watch him, embrace him and be glad that we’ve got him. When it comes to having £20m players in the national team, the more the merrier.
