Brighton view on Dan Burn, his Newcastle transfer and how Seagulls have fared without him

The impact Dan Burn has had on Newcastle United since his £13million return is incredible. A boyhood dream was fulfilled when the Blyth-born defender put in a match of the match performance on his debut to help Newcastle grind out a vital 1-0 victory against Aston Villa.

Another excellent showing against West Ham had Toon fans drawing parallels with Brian ‘Killer’ Kilcline - the defender who arrived at St James’ Park to shore up a leaky backline under Kevin Keegan in the early 90s. A hat-trick of flawless showings was completed last weekend when Burn - who was released by the Magpies as an 11-year-old - contributed towards another clean sheet, meaning Newcastle have conceded just once in his three outings.

By contrast, Brighton have capitulated at the back since offloading the 29-year-old to his boyhood club in January. Graham Potter’s men have conceded 12 goals in five goals without him, a testament to the rock-solid capabilities of Newcastle’s new cult hero.

It was not an easy route for Burn to the Premier League, with spells at Blyth Spartans and Darlington validating the fact that he had to get here the hard way. Richard Mills, the Brighton writer for SussexLive, was keen to give Newcastle fans a better insight into the career of the 6ft 7in defender…

A: “He only played three times for Brighton in the second half of that season as Brighton boss at the time, Chris Hughton, saw him as a fringe option.

“Burn was particularly disappointed not to play in Albion's FA Cup semi-final vs Man City.

“He actually thought his move to Brighton would be scuppered as he broke his foot a day or so after signing from Wigan. But he did his rehab, got some more game time for the Latics and was then a Premier League player once again.”

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