Newcastle United: Dan Burn speaks of his joy at playing for club

Newcastle United centre-back Dan Burn says the excitement of playing for his boyhood club “hasn’t worn off at all”.

The Magpies defender was speaking about his time so far on Tyneside on the BBC’s Football Daily podcast.

Burn signed for Newcastle for a £13m fee from Brighton & Hove Albion back in January when the club were languishing in the Premier League relegation zone, but the 30-year-old’s arrival, amongst four other signings, helped the club secure an 11th-place finish come the end of the season.

The 6ft 6in defender made no secret of his delight at signing for Eddie Howe’s side at the beginning of the year, telling the club’s official website: “I’m buzzing to be here.

“I never thought I’d be in this position so to be a Newcastle player and to be around St. James’ Park, it’s something I’ve dreamt of since I was a kid.” 

And Burn still delights at the fact he has been given the opportunity to play for his hometown club, after thinking that the chance may have passed him by just a few months before he signed.

Asked whether he still gets goosebumps at being introduced as Newcastle’s Dan Burn, he said: “Yeah, definitely. That’s what I dreamt of when I was a kid, was playing in the black and white of Newcastle.

“So yeah, it hasn’t worn off at all.

“It was something that I never thought I was going to be able to do, especially getting to the stage of the career I was at. 

“I think it was just after the takeover happened, I think I was walking my dog with my Dad, and I was like, ‘oh, that’s us done now, there’s no way I’m going to play for Newcastle’, and then three, four months later, I was halfway up there!”

TIF Thoughts on Burn’s comments…

We believe that Burn’s performances over the three years he spent at Brighton earned him a shot at playing for his hometown club, after making 85 appearances for the Seagulls in spells under both Chris Hughton and Graham Potter, helping the club to 17th, 15th, and 16th placed Premier League finishes.

And the former Wigan Athletic defender, who has been dubbed a “colossus” by Toon journalist Ciaran Kelly, has made an impressive start to his Newcastle career, having made 22 Premier League appearances for the club since his arrival, helping the Magpies to nine clean sheets in that time, according to Transfermarkt.

Therefore, we believe that Burn’s signing has been a mutual success for both player and club.