West Ham United defender Reece Burke enjoyed an impressive debut for loan club Bradford City against Barnsley on Saturday.
The central defender was named West Ham’s Young Player of the Year last season and featured in their last five Premier League games for the 2014/2015 campaign, starting four of them.
Burke was rushed into the Bantams' starting XI by manager Phil Parkinson and turned in an assured performance as the derby finished 0-0 in front of over 10,000 fans. The result came after a dismal defeat to Gillingham a week ago.
Burke's performance brought some relief to Parkinson, who before the Burke's arrival last week had tried three other defensive partners alongside Rory McArdle already this season. The Bradford manager will be confident it's now fourth time lucky.
Bantams supporter James Hickey was among the 10,000-plus at Oakwell on Saturday and described Burke's debut as "brilliant".
@tribalfootball brilliant debut calm and assured on ball.
— James Hickey (@hickeybcfc) August 23, 2015Burke has initially signed for Bradford on a month-long deal, but after Saturday’s performance Parkinson is expected to speak with Hammers boss Slaven Bilic about the prospect of extending the deal into January.
