Eddie Howe delivers brilliant Newcastle United verdict on Dan Burn – on and off the pitch

The defender joined Newcastle United from Brighton and Hove Albion in a £13million deal on deadline day after the club failed to land Lille’s Sven Botman and Sevilla’s Diego Carlos in the January transfer window.

Blyth-born Burn, released by Newcastle at a young age, is yet to experience defeat as a United player, with the club having won five of the six games he’s started.

The 29-year-old has been keeping captain Jamaal Lascelles out of the starting XI, and he made a contribution at both ends of the pitch in Thursday night’s 2-1 win over Southampton, having set up Bruno Guimaraes’ stunning winning goal at the St Mary’s Stadium.

Asked about Burn’s impact ahead of this afternoon’s game against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, head coach Howe said: “Dan’s someone that I’ve liked for many, many years.

“Every time we played Brighton, regardless of his position, whether they played a back four or back five, he was sometimes centre-half, wing-back, left-back, he gave us problems, whether it was because of his physicality or technical ability.

“He’s someone that we really, really liked. I like him even more now, having worked with him, because you then see the person behind the player as well.

“He’s come in very calmly, and brought leadership to the group, but also, behind that, you know what it means for him to play for Newcastle, having supported the as a kid and gone to games with his dad.

“Having been through that experience, it means the world to him to play for this club. I think it’s been a brilliant transfer for us so far – and for him.”

Newcastle, unbeaten in nine games, are 14th in the Premier League table.

Meanwhile, Roman Abramovich has been disqualified as a director of Chelsea by the Premier League, but the sale of the club is expected to progress.

The sanctioning of the club’s owner by the Government on Thursday in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine saw the oligarch’s assets frozen.

However, Chelsea have been handed a new licence to continue operations, and are in talks with over the easing of restrictions.

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