Cory Burke on loan to Portmore

Despite saying recently he will only be back in the Red Stripe Premier League as a 'last resort,' national striker Cory Burke will be playing club football in Jamaica for the first time since 2016.

The 27-year-old striker has been loaned from Major League Soccer club Philadelphia Union to the reigning Red Stripe Premier League champions Portmore United for the remainder of 2019. The announcement was made yesterday on the club's website.

Attacking options

He has been training with the club since August and will boost the attacking options for head coach Ricardo 'Bibi' Gardner.

Burke has been in Jamaica since May after losing his US P1 visa status and was projected to be unavailable for three to six months while the matter was being resolved. But his status did not improve in the months since his return to the island, resulting in him not being in the Jamaica squad which competed in the Concacaf Gold Cup last summer.

Earlier in July the Norwegian paper the Nettavisen reported that Valerenga were in negotiations to acquire Burke on loan from the Union, which would have been subject to him receiving his Shengen visa, but the deal collapsed. Union Sporting Director Ernst Tanner said the club has had multiple deals close to finished to loan out Burke, but all fell through at the last minute.

Burke has not played since April 20, when he scored in the Union's 3-0 win over the Montreal Impact. He has made seven appearances for the club this season, scoring two goals.

He has since been included in the final national squad for the Concacaf Nations League fixtures against Antigua and Barbuda on Friday at 7 p.m. at the Montego Bay Sports Complex and against Guyana on Monday.