The Athletic’s Chris Waugh has revealed an unseen pre-match moment on Sunday which highlights why Eddie Howe keeps starting Newcastle United’s Dan Burn.
It was certainly a special moment on deadline day when Newcastle fan Burn was signed by the Magpies to help shore up their defence, and having been playing every week at high-flying Brighton at the time, he couldn’t have wished for the move to have gone much better.
The monster centre-back is a regular under Howe having only been left out of the starting lineup on two occasions in the league – once last campaign and once this term – and has even been tipped to make the England World Cup squad this winter by Neil Warnock.
Waugh has revealed on Pod on the Tyne that his leadership skills that are ensuring that he keeps his spot in the team under Howe, even as a makeshift left-back, after spotting something at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this weekend.
He said: “I would also like to give a shoutout to Dan Burn, because there have been some questions about whether he should be in the team in recent weeks.
“I asked Howe about it the week before. He didn’t like my question on that front about where Matt Targett is and was – I mean, Matt Targett can’t even get on the pitch at the minute.
“What wouldn’t have been seen on the TV and what isn’t always noticeable is there’s a reason why he also wants to get Dan Burn in the team. Before the match, Newcastle were doing their warm-up, and at one stage, Burn went into the middle of the warm-up and went to basically every single player and said, ‘I need more from you, I want the intensity up’.
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“That’s the leadership that he also brings, that’s what Howe wants out on the pitch, that’s what Trippier brings as well and they have those leaders filtered throughout the team.
“He talks about having a leadership team, Eddie Howe, and Dan Burn is a part of that, and I thought that he did very well again.”
TIF Thoughts on Burn’s form…
Many may well have seen Burn’s signing as a bit of a stopgap until they staved off the threat of relegation, however, that hasn’t been the case, with Burn starting all but one league game this season.
Burn has even managed to find a spot for himself in the starting lineup alongside fellow left-footer and summer signing Sven Botman, which also ensures Howe’s side are a threat from offensive set pieces and great at defending in their own box, having conceded just three times from dead-ball situations.
The fact that Burn is now being talked about as a possible option for Gareth Southgate heading into the World Cup shows just how well he’s been playing, although given his age and the fact he’s never been involved with the Three Lions at any age group, he’s very much an outsider when it comes to making the squad.