One thing is certain with Dan Burn.
If he is fit and available, Eddie Howe has him in his team, with a few exceptions.
Signed in January 2022, once Dan Burn was brought into the Newcastle United squad, he started all 16 Premier League matches as he was a key factor in Eddie Howe’s team’s recovery from what seemed certain relegation due to Ashley and Bruce.
Dan Burn in the center of defense and Matt Target on loan at left-back, the second half of that 2021/22 season saw only Liverpool and Man City pick up more points than Newcastle United, and that season’s recovery was built on a rock-solid defense.
In his first full season at Newcastle United, Dan Burn started the 2022/23 season in the center of defence, but once summer signing Sven Botman had been given some time to adapt, the Dutch defender partnered Fabian Schar in the middle and Eddie Howe moved Dan Burn to left back where he remained. The big boy from Blyth played 35 Premier League games that season, coming off the bench in the other three.
Quite a remarkable season for Newcastle United when it came to defending. Only title winners Man City equaled United’s 33 goals conceded as Eddie Howe’s side finished fourth, the next lowest total being 43 goals conceded.
The 2023/24 season was Newcastle United’s worst in living memory in terms of injuries, including Dan Burn. He suffered a nasty back injury but returned weeks before he should have featured to help the NUFC cause because so many players were missing, starting 32 Premier League games and coming off the bench in one other. Dan Burn played occasionally as a left back that season, but usually in the middle of defense wherever he was asked to do so. Sometimes as part of a three-man defense.
Last season was a great one, winning the Champion League qualifying trophy, with Dan Burn and Fabian Schar excellent in the center of defence, while Sven Botman was still struggling to stay fit after the previous season’s surgery and recovery. Hall and Livramento are both excellent at left back. Dan Burn played 37 games in the Premier League in the 2024/2025 season.
We go back to the present and Burn and Schar continue in the middle, followed by injuries and suspensions. Dan Burn once again finishes at left-back and has started all seven Premier League games so far wherever Eddie Howe calls on him.
In the seven Premier League games so far, Dan Burn has started in all seven, while United have kept a clean sheet in five of them.
It all feels very familiar.
In 2022/23, when Newcastle United had that season of great defending, when it came to Premier League starts in the back five, you had Nick Pope 37 PL starts, Kieran Trippier 38, Fabian Schar 36, Sven Botman 35, Dan Burn 35.
At the moment, Eddie Howe has a very familiar 2022/23 look, apart from the fact that Fabian Schar is currently struggling to get back into the starting XI after being missed due to concussion, due to the excellent form of Malick Thiaw in the middle alongside Sven Botman. Kieran Trippier and Dan Burn at full-back, Nick Pope in goal.
Yet I still see these foolish claims from Dan Burn.
Both the media and many Newcastle United fans do not fully accept Dan Burn as a left back.
Dan Burn is definitely a top class left back. He’s just a different kind of top-class left-back than what Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento bring to that position.
The big boy from Blyth simply brings different strengths and weaknesses compared to other alternatives at NUFC, alternatives that are both currently injured.
The stats don’t lie and just like in 2022/23 we see the same in 2025/26, plus 2023/24 and 2024/25 for that matter. When Dan Burn plays in defence, in any position, he is a huge asset… in more ways than one.
It’s an absolute joke if some people want to see Dan Burn as a weakness at left-back. I think it’s fair to say that in open play he gives you less when it comes to attacking, BUT the other strengths he brings easily balance that out.
Dan Burn is an unconventional left back in many ways.
However, Eddie Howe is an unconventional manager, so often he sees solutions that no other manager would.
Long may it remain that way, with Dan Burn in his team, wherever he chooses to play against him.
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