Released by Arsenal as a youth player, Burgess went to university before he was offered a trial at Championship side Middlesbrough during his second year of study.
He earned a two-year professional contract, but was encouraged by then-manager Tony Mowbray to continue his education.
“It was something you couldn’t turn down,” he said of his first professional deal. “So I took it and finished my degree at Teesside University. They allowed me to transfer my first two years.
“Mowbray told me to make sure I finished it because the contract was a foot in the door, not a guaranteed career. I listened to his words and thankfully, I’ve been able to carve a career out with the game as well.”
Burgess enjoyed spells in League One with Peterborough and Portsmouth, before taking the plunge with a move to Belgium in 2020.
And, remarkably, he is not the only English centre-back who has swapped life in the third tier for a crack at the Belgian top flight.
Defensive partner Ross Sykes was picked up from Accrington Stanley in 2022 after Union “took a chance” on him.
The pair went on to help Union win their first league title in 90 years last season after Sykes, like Burgess, overcame adversity in his formative years.
Sykes may be 6ft 5in now, but he was previously released by Burnley because he was deemed to “too small” as a kid.
It ended up proving a turning point in his career.
“I didn’t want to keep going with academy football,” he said after he was let go at the age of 11. “But my mum and dad persuaded me to go on trial at Accrington Stanley one or two weeks later. I didn’t look back after that.”
Sykes and Burgess have gone on to make 318 appearances between them for Union on a journey that has taken the Belgian league leaders to Europe’s top table for the first time.
And Union’s 3-1 win against PSV in their first Champions League fixture did not come as a surprise to Sykes last month because his side are “not afraid to come up against anyone”.
Burgess certainly looked at home at Europe’s top table. The Union captain was rated 9.39 out of 10 by BBC Sport readers, finishing the match as the top-ranking player.
An Englishman who has only played one league game in the top two tiers of English football might not seem the most obvious to lead a European campaign – but Union have always taken the road less travelled.
“It’s a club built on the profile of bringing youngsters through from unknown leagues,” Burgess explains. “We have players from the Estonian, Latvian, Croatian, Austrian leagues and Union will give them a chance to shine if they see potential.
“My role is to help them and keep demanding high standards and usher them through, and then they get big moves all over Europe, which is a pleasure to see.”
