Ex-League One star eyes up history-making title win after taking European gamble

As a player in England, Christian Burgess made just one appearance in the Championship.

Even that was a dead rubber game on the final day of the 2012-13 season for Middlesbrough. Now, he is playing a big part in one of the more romantic stories in European football at Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise.

The historic club is in its first season back at the top table of Belgian football for almost half a century. Rather than simply make up the numbers though, Union have surpassed all expectations by finishing top of the table in the regular 34-game season. They have achieved it by winning 23 of their 33 games and holding off the challenge of clubs with vaster resources such as Vincent Kompany's Anderlecht and Club Brugge.

The club, one of the oldest in Belgium who were taken over by Brighton owner Tony Bloom back in 2018, now must come through a convoluted play-off process as they bid to seal a first title since 1935.

Burgess has more than played his part in that being a possibility, featuring 28 times in what is proving to be another memorable season on the continent for the giant defender. "For someone like me, at 30 years of age, this might be my last chance to play in Europe but the aim now is to win the league," he said recently, in an interview with Sky Sports. "We have a great opportunity that might never come around again. I have loved every minute of it."

Burgess' time in Belgium began back in 2020, signing a three-year contract with the club who were then in the second tier. They would win promotion at a canter, losing just twice all season. That form and momentum has carried on this season, with a closely-knit group aiming to defy those who believe their bubble will eventually burst. Burgess, who has