Merson hails ‘old school’ Burn who’s been a ‘masterstroke’ signing

Dan Burn has been outstanding for Newcastle United since joining on a two-and-a-half-year deal from Brighton & Hove Albion. He quickly forged a formidable partnership alongside Fabian Schar, and the pair instantly clicked to turn the Magpies’ fortunes around.

The 30-year-old arrived at St James’ Park in late-January and had an instant impact, helping Newcastle to 10 wins in his 16 Premier League appearances, conceding 18 goals and keeping six clean sheets.

Paul Merson was full of praise for Burn in his Sportskeeda column, writing: ‘(He) turned it around for Newcastle. They paid a fair bit of money to snap up Dan Burn from Brighton, but he’s an absolute giant of a defender and has been as solid as a rock.

‘He’s not very natural and elegant, but he does what it says on the box! Burn is an old-school center-half and his arrival has turned out to be a masterstroke for Newcastle, as he played pretty much every game in the second half of the season to help them comfortably avoid relegation.’

When Burn joined, Newcastle were 18th in the Premier League with 15 points from 21 games, having won just twice while conceding 43 goals. They finished the season in 11th with 49 points, 14 points clear of the drop zone.

Only three clubs picked up more points in the last four months than Newcastle (31) – Liverpool (41), Tottenham Hotspur (35), Manchester City (33) – and Merson believes Burn is to thank.

Newcastle are on the hunt for another centre-back this summer, having been linked with LOSC Lille’s Sven Botman, Burnley’s James Tarkowski and Aston Villa’s Tyrone Mings, but it won’t be to replace Burn.

In other news, here’s why Aston Villa shouldn’t sign Oxlade-Chamberlain