Graham Burke will be banging on the door for Republic of Ireland inclusion all year long.
That’s the view of Shamrock Rovers boss Stephen Bradley who saw his star turn score an outrageous Goal of the Season contender in Derry.
In Tuesday’s 2-0 win over the Candystripes, Burke collected the ball midway inside his own half six minutes before the break.
He then raced to the halfway line and, spotting Nathan Gartside on the edge of his box, unleashed a heat seeking missile that left the Derry goalkeeper stranded.
Burke has been capped three times for Ireland against France, the United States and Poland and scored in that friendly win over the Americans.
He was a late call-up to Stephen Kenny's senior squad for November’s Nations League draw with Bulgaria in Dublin.
And Kenny put him on standby for the recent World Cup qualifiers against Serbia and Luxembourg.
“He’s one of the players in the league who will be knocking on the international door all year,” said Bradley.
“He's a top player and we saw that the year he went away to Preston, I think he was on 15 goals and he has that in him to go on a streak.
“But his all round game is improving and our all round game is improving, but he's a top player.”
Burke proved an instant hit when he joined the Hoops in 2017 after spells in England with Aston Villa and Notts County.
He then joined Preston North End but struggled for game time and was loaned to Gillingham and then back to Shamrock Rovers midway through 2019.
And the Dubliner recently agreed a three-year pre-contract to join the Hoops permanently when his Preston contract expires this summer.
But Bradley insists it is too simplistic to say that England just didn’t work out for Burke after two spells away.
“There are a lot of factors that come into that decision of Graham coming home,” he continued.
“There are a lot of factors why it didn't quite work at Preston - is it formations, the managers, the style of play, how they press?
“It's easy to say that he's found his level but Graham had so many options to stay in England.
“But he has been there as a young boy and he knows what it's about and he doesn't want it.
“He doesn't want to be playing in lower leagues and just going through the motions. He wants to be in a team that competes and wins things.
“Graham is home by choice as he had five, six or seven options in England. Some of them would be classed as good options to some people.
“But when you speak to Graham they were not things he wanted to do, they didn't excite him
“He enjoys being here, he enjoys the environment and he’s one that will be knocking on the international door all year.”
And on Burke’s Brandywell stunner, Bradley said: “It's a special goal and you’ll have to go a long way to beat that for Goal of the Season already.
“Their keeper was high every time the ball broke but it's easy to see that from the sideline, it's about seeing it when you're in the heat of the moment.
“All credit to Graham, it opened up and it was a hell of a strike.”
